| Course | BUS 400 Driving Business Opportunities |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 7 |
| Paper type | undergraduate project presenting a business case and implementation plan for a new opportunity |
| Length | About 1,000 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | BS Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUS 400 Module 7
Business Case and Implementation Plan: The Herb and Microgreen Room
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
BUS 400: Driving Business Opportunities
Project Two
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The organization, setting and figures below are a composite written as a model document. No real employer, client, colleague or patient is described.
Business Case and Implementation Plan: The Herb and Microgreen Room
Executive Summary
The family board is asked to approve $420,000 to convert one bay of the greenhouse into a room for herbs and microgreens sold to Boston-area restaurants, with launch in September. A sixty-day pilot showed that chefs buy and reorder, and projections show the room earning about 15 percent a year where the family requires 10, with payback in about four and a half years. The plan's key task is winning about 150 restaurant accounts over three years, so most of this document is about how that will happen; decision gates at six and twelve months allow the board to slow or stop spending if accounts lag.
The Problem and the Opportunity
Nearly everything the greenhouse grows goes to three supermarket chains, and since two of them combined in 2023 the merged buyer has trimmed what it pays for lettuce by roughly 8 percent. Sales have stayed level only because the greenhouse ships more heads each year. The business needs a product and customers that pay for what it does well: year-round growing in a cold climate, certified food safety and fresh delivery to southern New England. Boston-area independent restaurants pay roughly three times grocery prices per pound for herbs and microgreens and struggle to find consistent product in winter. The serviceable market is estimated at about $3.6 million a year.
The Evidence
From January to March, fourteen restaurants received herbs and microgreens from a converted half-bay. Seventy-nine percent reordered after the first month, against a target of 70 percent. Average weekly orders were $52, near the $55 assumed in the market analysis. Chefs rated basil and pea shoots highest and cilantro lowest, which led the head grower to change cilantro varieties in the final month. After the separately metered power bill, each pound earned a 46 percent margin. The Thursday route took about three extra hours, as planned.
The Financial Case
The $420,000 investment covers racks and irrigation, efficient lighting, climate equipment and a cooler. Sales are projected at $180,000 in the first year, $310,000 in the second and $410,000 from the third. The room loses about $15,000 in cash in its first year, earns about $76,000 in its second and about $148,000 a year thereafter. Discounted at 10 percent over seven years, the room is worth about $93,000 more than it costs, an annual return of roughly 15 percent. Brealey et al. (2020) note that a positive net present value means the investment earns more than its cost of capital, and that holds here under the base case. The projections are most sensitive to volume: if only 120 accounts are won, net present value turns negative.
Winning Customers
Because volume is the critical variable, the customer plan carries the most detail. In the first year, the target is 65 accounts: the fourteen pilot restaurants, about thirty more on or near the Thursday route identified through the pilot chefs' referrals and a restaurant association list, and about twenty through the specialty distributor, which has agreed to offer the product to its 400 accounts. The family's son will visit each prospective chef with samples, since chefs buy on quality they can see and taste. Kotler and Keller (2016) note that business buyers value reliability and total cost, so the sales message will stress shelf life, reducing waste, as much as flavor. In the second year, the target rises to 110 accounts by adding a Monday route to the North Shore and expanding distributor placements. A standing order discount of 5 percent for restaurants that commit to weekly orders will improve predictability.
Implementation Schedule
Implementation schedule
| Month | Task | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| March | Order racks, lighting and climate equipment | Operations manager |
| March to April | Recruit herb grower with head grower | Head grower |
| May to July | Install equipment; electrician and plumber | Operations manager |
| July | Herb grower starts; trial crops | Head grower and herb grower |
| August | Pre-sell to pilot restaurants and prospects | Family's son |
| September | Launch; first full Thursday route | Family's son and dispatcher |
| October | Distributor launch | Family's son |
| Monthly from September | Review measures | Family board |
The head grower leads hiring and supervises the herb grower, which keeps growing decisions in one place and reflects her standing in the business, an approach Kotter (2012) describes as building a guiding coalition of respected people.
Measures
Six measures will be reported monthly: active accounts, reorder rate, average weekly order, gross margin per pound after metered electricity, waste as a share of harvest and on-time delivery. Targets for the first year are 65 accounts by month twelve, a reorder rate of at least 75 percent, an average order of $52, a gross margin of at least 45 percent, waste under 8 percent and on-time delivery above 95 percent.
Risks and Responses
Crop quality could slip as volume grows; the head grower's quality standard and weekly chef ratings will catch it early. Chefs could change jobs and take relationships with them; accounts will be built with owners and sous chefs as well. An indoor farm near Boston could cut microgreen prices; the plan leads with herbs, where competition is weaker. Electricity could cost more than projected; the bay is metered separately and lighting schedules can be adjusted. And the grocery customer could worry about supply; the written guarantee agreed in Module Six gives lettuce priority in any shortage.
Decision Gates
At six months after launch, if accounts are below 30 or the reorder rate is below 65 percent, the board will pause the North Shore route and review pricing and product mix before spending more on sales. At twelve months, if accounts are below 50, the board will consider returning part of the bay to lettuce, limiting losses to the specialized equipment, much of which can be resold.
Recommendation
The board should approve the $420,000 investment and the plan above. The pilot has tested the key assumptions, the financial case is positive, the plan focuses on the variable that matters most, and the decision gates protect the business if customers come more slowly than expected.
References
Brealey, R. A., Myers, S. C., & Allen, F. (2020). Principles of corporate finance (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson.
Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change. Harvard Business Review Press.
What the BUS 400 Module 7 instructions ask for
Project Two in BUS 400 usually asks for a business case and implementation plan for the opportunity developed over the course. Guidelines commonly require an executive summary, the problem or opportunity, the evidence, the financial case, the plan for winning customers, an implementation timeline with responsibilities, measures of success, risks and contingencies and a recommendation. Strong submissions read as a single argument for a decision, draw on the earlier milestones without repeating them at length and make the plan specific enough that someone could start work the next day. They include points at which the business will review results and decide whether to continue. Expect to attach or summarize the projections rather than rebuild them.
How this BUS 400 Module 7 project two example is built
The paper opens with a one-page summary asking the family board to approve $420,000. It explains the problem, grocery price pressure on lettuce, and the opportunity, summarizing the pilot: fourteen restaurants, 79 percent reorders, $52 average weekly orders and 46 percent margin. The financial case shows a return of about 15 percent and payback in the fifth year. A customer plan targets 65 accounts in the first year through direct delivery on the Thursday route and distributor placements. A month-by-month schedule runs from ordering equipment in March to launch in September, each task with an owner. Six measures are reviewed monthly, and two decision gates allow the board to slow or stop spending.
Where the BUS 400 Module 7 rubric puts the points
The Project Two rubric typically rewards a clear executive summary, a well-supported opportunity, a sound financial case, a specific customer acquisition plan, a realistic implementation plan with responsibilities, measures and decision points, risk management and professional presentation. The strongest cases connect evidence to the recommendation, address the variable the projections are most sensitive to, assign every task an owner and date, and specify in advance what results would change the plan. Cases lose credit for repeating earlier assignments without synthesis, for plans without dates or owners, for measures that cannot be tracked and for skipping what happens if results disappoint. Graders also look for a clear request at the start and again at the end.
BUS 400 Module 7 help: the mistakes that cost points
Business cases often read as a collection of earlier papers. Write one argument instead: here is the problem, here is the evidence that this opportunity solves it, here is what it returns, here is exactly how we will do it and here is how we will know. Focus the plan on the assumption that matters most; if the projections depend on winning customers, the customer plan deserves the most detail. Give every task a person and a month. Define decision gates with numbers, so the board knows what would slow or stop spending. Make sure the figures match the earlier milestones, or explain why they changed.
Get BUS 400 Module 7 written to your instructions
Send the BUS 400 Project Two guidelines and your earlier work. The paper will assemble a decision-ready business case with evidence, returns, a customer plan, a schedule with owners, measures and decision gates. About two days; your first project is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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BUS 400 Module 7 questions, answered
Where can I find a free BUS 400 Module 7 Project Two sample?
This page includes the complete BUS 400 Project Two business case and implementation plan for a greenhouse's herb room.
What should a business case include?
A summary, the problem or opportunity, supporting evidence, the financial case, the plan for execution including customers, timeline and responsibilities, measures, risks and a clear request.
How is an implementation plan different from a business case?
The business case argues why the investment is worthwhile; the implementation plan sets out how it will be carried out, by whom and when, and how progress will be measured.
Why include decision gates in a plan?
They set predefined results that trigger a review, so the business can slow, change or stop an initiative before losses grow.
How detailed should an implementation timeline be?
Detailed enough that each major task has an owner and a month, with dependencies clear, so someone could begin work immediately.