Introduction

Due to the increase in pollution in the metropolitan cities of the UK, the government has reinstated norms and regulations which indicate the necessity of making journeys in cities and towns in England by walking or cycling. The target period by which they wish to make this a reality is (2030 Cleaner Air Portsmouth, 2022). The people must understand the vulnerability of their transportation mediums and eventually follow a lifestyle that would lead to a better environment for future generation. Going green is a favorable option, but many would need help accessing transport options to meet their needs and reduce vehicle exposure on the roads. They have installed this vision and intend to successfully make it a success by a specific period set (Department for Transport, 2020). For this purpose, the Breeze organization identified the scope of working in an industry that could expose them to a more significant business opportunity, especially with the changes in regulations imposed by the government. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the case and prepare a report on the business, its surrounding environment and the focus made on the necessary tools and timetable to make the business meet the expectation and government regulations.

Overview of Breeze

Breeze is a company based in the United Kingdom and operates through digital media. Its super application helps combine all the transport needs in one space and saves people from application overload on mobile phones. The available application is considered a part of a much bigger and broader trial project that will help make public transport and other related services much more easily accessible to different people (Breeze, 2023). A person can utilize the application to unlock any type of electric scooter, higher an e-bike, or a bike and even check the timetables of trains and buses to plan their route. The organization plans to add many more services within its application in the upcoming months, which will even help buy rail and bus tickets.

Figure 1: How Breeze works

(Source: Breeze, 2023)

The company focuses on simplifying the customers’ journey by showing them the cheapest, most eco-friendly options and the quickest ways that would be convenient for them to make the journey short and hassle-free. They focus on providing reliable information to the customers regarding the transport options available in the surroundings and the stops they wish to meet (Breeze, 2023). It is a company that focuses on utilizing and developing the application further so that local transport operators can easily be targeted and the local authority can provide prompt information regarding the timetables. They are going to share how busy the services act, the level of traffic on the streets, and much more information to the target customers with the help of the application (Breeze, 2023). Furthermore, the company has also considered allowing the customers to choose what would be convenient for them. If they wish to take an e-scooter to the respective station, use a bike for the whole journey, or anything else, they have the option to do so.

Figure 2: Areas of operation

(Source: Breeze, 2023)

The company currently focuses on operating in areas across Portsmouth, Isle of Wight and South Hampshire. The application will allow the audiences to plan as per their preference, making the trip flexible and effortless. They even offer choices that allow the customers to switch between the different transport options by just touching a button on the screen (Breeze, 2023). They can unlock and pay for the choices they have opted for without the requirement of switching different applications. The organization has made sure that through their application, they are going to make the entire travel a much easier mode for the customers.

Stakeholder Analysis

Given below are the stakeholders involved with the business:

Owner – The person is an internal stakeholder who has come up with the respective business idea and actively participates in strategy building, implementation and improvisation accordingly (Marques et al., 2020). The person holds the power to implement leadership and make changes in decisions that the company considers during any critical scenarios.

Employees – They are the stakeholders who conduct different operational duties. They are the ones who conduct duties and process daily operations (Marques et al., 2020). These people are involved with different decision-making and implementation processes, which would help them successfully provide the services intended for the target audiences.

Managers – The managers are the ones who look after the employees and report them to the owner or the directors above them (Marques et al., 2020). These act as the intermediate decision makers in any crisis and report the issues and problems along with the solutions to the respective areas further to the owner. They are the ones who manage the employees and their efficiency level.

Government – They or the external stakeholder who had the direct entrance on the business idea in the first place. Since the government is taking active participation in controlling pollution, it has come out with norms and regulations that benefit the business and can bring tremendous success to society and the economy.

Customers – These are the target people the business intends to focus on. Their demand for the service the company provides is definitely a direct involvement even though they are an external stakeholder (Marques et al., 2020). Without their active participation, the business will fail to conduct its operations in the industry.

Shareholders – These are the individuals who have invested in the business based on the idea and vision they have set forward to conduct the duties (Marques et al., 2020). Along with the norms and regulations proposed by the government and the unique features that the business will be providing, the shareholders have invested their money and time in the business, based on which they will obtain profits later. Without their help, the company might not have been able to gain investment to conduct respective duties.

Suppliers – These external stakeholders are the people who provide the respective product: bikes, e-bikes, bus operators, etc. They are the ones who will be cooperating with the business and allow the customers to get in touch with them since the brand is going to be an intermediate medium to fill the gap in communication between both parties. Without the suppliers, the company cannot conduct its business with the respective idea (Brugha & Varvasovszky, 2000).

Strategies that can be used by Breeze to manage the stakeholders:

The internal stakeholders must be made aware of the current and future industry conditions so that they can perform effectively and develop strategies according to that. The level of transparency in each internal stakeholder will allow the business to run smoothly and create a more impactful impression in front of the people.

External stakeholders like shareholders and suppliers must be kept in the loop with different information they are considering within their business to move forward. In this way, both of them will be aware of what the business is focusing on, and there is scope to expand themselves in the market for a more extended period. Nevertheless, they will feel relieved and much more secure with the investment in the product and money they are making in the company.

The customers can be given attractive offers and exclusive opportunities as well as features which would attract them to consume the services rather than opting for any other alternatives. Since the government has narrowed down the scope of travelling in the upcoming years, the business can successfully meet the demand and fulfil the regulations imposed by the government by providing consecutive services at attractive prices.

PESTEL

Political

1.     The UK is known for their table political environment 2.     They are coming up with changes in the transportation industry to control pollution and focus on an environmental approach. 3.     The company strategies fit the regulations imposed by the government in the respective areas.

Economical

1.     People have the power to consume different advanced transportation services (Stellar, 2020). 2.     The nation is a developed country, and it has access to advanced technology as well as the latest trends, which they follow in order to update themselves.

Social

1.     Society has followed the latest trends, and while they are educated about the various environmental effect that is caused because of pollution, their ability to consume services will make them feel much more inclined towards such consumption (Stellar, 2020). 2.     The natives are pretty updated with the latest technology, and their support is expected through bookings and service consumption made through the application.

Technological

1.      The country and its localities, along with the population, are advanced when it comes to technology. They have access to various technological innovations, which allows the nation, along with the companies in the industry, to implement and adopt different features that could meet the interest of the target audiences (Stellar, 2020).

Environmental

1.     This industry allows companies to have a much more positive impact on the environment since it is strongly focusing on controlling the pollution present within the surrounding by coming up with a much greener approach (Stellar, 2020).

Legal

1.      The Legal implications made by the government indeed show positive areas for the business. It is because the business focuses on the approach the government intends to take. There for, they utilize it to conduct their business operations which is relatively safe and helpful for them since they might get help from the government in conducting relevant duties (Perera, 2017).

Table 1: PESTEL Analysis of Breeze

(Source: Author’s Creation)

Effective tools

Tools were practical while monitoring the factors like planning, estimating, monitoring & controlling the status of the project. There are some other factors on which the project depends, like the complexity of the project, team size and the methodology used in the project. To monitor the status of orders for Breeze’s bike and e-scooter. There will be two used n the planning and execution of the project

Gantt Chart will be used for the graphical representation of the timeline under which the project is scheduled. It will represent the connectivity of each task with other and shows the time duration of each task and the deadline for the completion of the project (Wilson, 2003). With the help of this tool, monitoring of projects, critical tasks, and tracking will become more convenient. Having all this information in a single place can help in identifying any potential delay so that the timeline can be adjusted accordingly. There are some strengths and weaknesses of the tools discussed below.

Strength:

• It is user-friendly so that monitoring of the project can be done easily.
• It represents data in graphical format for the project schedule.
• It categorizes the task according to their dependency and level of importance.
• It will help to manage the resources and workload of the project.

Weakness:

• It is unsuitable for more extensive projects as maintaining the project will become complex and challenging.
• It is impossible to track the insights’ progress for a particular task.
• Regular update is required to track the actual progress of the project.
• Changes in scope and requirements lead to a complete change in the timeline.

Earn Value Analysis (EVA) is another tool that can be used in the project. This tool uses to monitor the project’s financials, where the project’s proposed budget is compared to the final budget after completion of the project and helps in analyzing the performance. It helps monitor the progress and any deviation in the project and forecast the project deadline and budget. There are some strengths and weaknesses of this tool.

Strength:

• It will provide the performance of the project in a comprehensive view.
• It will help in identifying the problem, and, as per the problem, a mitigation strategy will be developed.
• It will predict the budget of the project along with the deadline.
• It gives a precise method to monitor the progress of the project.

Weakness:

• Requires regular updates for the accurate calculations of the project.
• It can become complex to set up and maintain.
• It does not cater to smaller projects.
• Changes in scope and requirements lead to a complete change in the timeline.

Both tools were adequate for the project to monitor along with financial status. These tools can control the status of Breeze’s bike and e-scooter. The use of both tools can provide a comprehensive view of the project and helps in monitoring the progress and performance of the project, and can make alteration to the project as per the conclusion drawn from them.

 

Methodology

There are various methodologies which can be used to do planning and installation of Breeze’s Bike and e-scooter. This case will use agile methodology as it seems more suitable for this project. Agile methodology is the best suitable method for the planning and installation of the Breeze’s Bike and e-scooter. This method is best for a complex, fast-paced project and is flexible with the situations. In this method, the approach is made so that the task is divided into sub-task, where it can be more manageable and completed in a shorter span of time. Each sub-task has planning, execution and monitoring of the task that helps to work on the feedback more efficiently.

The agile methodology has been used in various transport project that includes the sharing of vehicles. For example, in a study conducted by (Ma et al., 2018), a bike-sharing scheme was introduced in Shanghai that helped increase the number of bike users in the city due to the rise in congestion caused by car users in the city. With the help of this method, it is easier and more reliable to manage and monitor a complete project. It also helps to understand the behaviours and technologies required by the users or will be used more frequently in the future.

Agile methodology is based on design thinking, allowing a human-centred approach to solving problems with collaboration and experimental data. The process includes prototype, testing and restructuring of tasks (Chan & Thong, 2009). It allows the team to work with the users and stakeholders and ensures that the user meets their requirements, like infrastructure and support, during any operational inconvenience. This method is well suited for this project as it is accurate for complex projects like this, along with past usage of this method in transportation companies (Ilieva, Ivanov & Stefanova, 2004).

Timeline

To purchase and install the setup of 500 Bikes and 500 e-scooter Gantt chart need to be prepared, including all the activities and tasks required to complete the setup and place them in a timeline to properly represent the activities with their deadlines.

The first phase is planning, where market research must be conducted to determine the vehicle model suitable for the setup. After conducting research, we need to select the high-traffic area to complete our project’s main object. After this, a budget need to be prepared under which all the expenses should be listed along with the duration. Then after the order of bikes and e-scooter will be placed with the delivery at their desired locations. After delivery of the vehicles and products, installation of the setup needs to be completed along with software and other required products. Along with that marketing and promotion strategy will be prepared and start a marketing campaign. 16-17 weeks will be sufficient to complete all the above activities.

 

Recommendation

Given below are some of the recommendations that the company can make to come up with a better impact on the business and also meet the goal of the government:

The organization can develop a scope for sharing electronic cabs. This will allow people to hire a taxi through the application, which runs on electricity or solar energy. Moreover, they can share the cab with one or two other travellers going the same route. This will allow the business to focus on broader aspects since many wish to travel farther and are uncomfortable with two-wheelers. It will help them expand their target audiences along with the market while keeping the government’s vision intact.

They can update a system within their application where they can directly look at the current location, but they have booked through the platform. At the respective stop from where they are going to board the bus or train, they can easily track the movement of the bus and train and get out from their location accordingly. This will reduce the waiting time, and it will become very convenient for people to keep a tab of that time, especially when travelling to distant places.

Conclusion

Hence, with the help of the right strategies, the business can conduct relevant exposures in industries towards the target audiences. Through the proper methodological research, the company can utilize the opportunity the government places and include different unique features, eventually bringing more significant opportunities in the future industry. It is mainly because not only the government but people are showing responsibility towards sustainability and protecting the surrounding environment. Since the government, along with the surrounding people, are concerned about pollution, there remains a strong inclination of business that Breeze can observe with the strategies that have been proposed as recommendations.

 

 

References

Breeze (2023). Simplify Your Journey. Retrieved from https://breezeuk.app/

Brugha, R., & Varvasovszky, Z. (2000). Stakeholder analysis: a review. Health policy and planning, 15(3), 239-246.Chan, F. K., & Thong, J. Y. (2009). Acceptance of agile methodologies: A critical review and conceptual framework. Decision support systems, 46(4), 803-814.

Cleaner Air Portsmouth. (2022). When You Stop, Engine Stops. Retrieved from https://cleanerairportsmouth.co.uk/when-you-stop-engine-stops/

Department for Transport. (2020). Gear Change: A bold vision for cycling and walking. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904146/gear-change-a-bold-vision-for-cycling-and-walking.pdf

Ilieva, S., Ivanov, P., & Stefanova, E. (2004, September). Analyses of an agile methodology implementation. In Proceedings. 30th Euromicro Conference, 2004. (pp. 326-333). IEEE.

Ma, Y. et al. (2018) ‘Challenges of collaborative governance in the Sharing Economy: The case of free-floating bike sharing in Shanghai’, Journal of Cleaner Production, 197, pp. 356–365. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.213.

Marques, P., Bernardo, M., Presas, P., & Simon, A. (2020). Corporate social responsibility in a local subsidiary: internal and external stakeholders’ power. EuroMed Journal of Business, 15(3), 377-393.

Perera, R. (2017). The PESTLE analysis. Nerdynaut.

Stellar. (2020). E-Bike Market: Industry Analysis and Forecast (2021-2027) by Network Type, Hardware, Communication Type, End User, Services, and Region. Retrieved from https://www.stellarmr.com/report/E-Bike-Market/301

Wilson, J. M. (2003). Gantt charts: A centenary appreciation. European Journal of Operational Research, 149(2), 430-437.