Free India Offices Ltd

Re-inventing Real Estate and Revolutionizing the way India Works

By Dhwani Shah M.M.S. 2 Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies

PROBLEM
Real estate rates in major metropolis seem to be out of control, with an increase of over 100% in leases and rentals over the last 10 years. The high costs are shattering dreams of many individuals coming to cities like Mumbai and Delhi in search of opportunities. Another problem making work difficult is the travel time involved in getting from home to office due to rapidly rising traffic levels in these cities. On an average, employees travel 2-3 hours a day for an 8-10 hour work day, thereby significantly reducing productivity at work as well as reducing the time they get to engage in activities apart from work throughout the day.

SOLUTION
Presenting the solution to all these problems Indias first mobile office space the next generation of office spaces that will reinvent and revolutionize real estate in the country. Presenting Free India Offices Ltd.

OVERVIEW
Free India Offices Ltd. will purchase large buses and convert them into mobile, soundproof office spaces. These buses can be rented by individual companies on contact basis for a stipulated time period (with options of renewal at the end of contract) and would accommodate amenities as per the requirements of the organization. These buses will pick and drop employees saving their time on travelling. Computers, laptops, notepads, stationery, internet access and other necessities would be available to the employees at their individual desks in the bus just like a regular office space. These buses can be parked in large parking lots in the day, or could be moved to clients offices. They can take the employees to restaurants in different parts of the city for lunch without the employee wasting any time on travelling for the same. The company could employ a direct sale model, with options of various levels of service, or could employ a long term lease/rental model. Different kinds of office spaces could be created, including large cabin spaces for C-level executives, conference rooms, cubicles, or lunch spaces.

THE PRODUCT
The product will be a commercial van converted into a sound-proof office space. Free India limited with buy these vans and outsource the job of adding basic furniture that all offices contain like furniture, toilet system, coffee vending machines etc to the van to a third party vendor. Free India offices will deal in 5 basic types of mobile offices. For the bottom strata of employees, the bus will contain 16 cubicles (F16). For mid-level employees, the bus will accommodate 8 personnel of the managerial level (F8), one with 4-seating also for managerial level (F4). A higher level of bus will contain space for 2 which can accommodate chief executives (F2). Another type of mobile space will be of the form of a conference room for inter-team meetings etc. For e.g. a company of 50 employees will rent 4 buses of the F16 type for its marketing, HR, finance department, one conference bus and one of the F2 type for its owners/directors. The vans will pick up the employees everyday from their respective locations and they can start work immediately. These vans can be parked at client locations or at parking locations on the outskirts of the city, next to each other so that if any interdepartmental interactions are required, they can be feasible. The companys plan is to rent the BEST depots from 9am-6pm since they generally remain relatively empty in that particular time period and have large empty spaces all across Mumbai. At the end of the day, the vans can drop the employees to their respective homes while they are still working so that there is no time loss for the employees. Special features as required by clients can also be arranged for at additional cost apart from the basic amenities needed.

THE PLACE
The product will be initially launched only in Mumbai to test grounds. Since Mumbai is the largest hub of companies in India, a large chuck of our target market will be located here.

THE CUSTOMER
The target customer segment for Free India Offices will be companies like consultancies, advertising agencies, PR agencies, market research companies, software companies and all others which have a small number of employees ranging from 10-100.

COMPETITORS
Research says that there are plenty dealers in portable offices equipped with latest furnishing facilities, to industries such as construction sites and domestic rental government agencies in India. Major players in this segment are Ritveyraaj, K.M.S. Plast World, Epack Polymers, Windoors International and Signtech. They provide a wide assortment of telecom shelters, prefabricated PUF / polystyrene insulated cabins and portacabins that are extensively required for sheltering telephonic equipments. However the good news for this business model is that none of these are offices that move/travel and hence they dont form direct competition for Free India Offices. Infact, there have been no service providers of mobile offices in India yet, thus giving Free India Offices a first mover advantage in their newly developed category that brings potential of disruptive innovation.

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
Since Business is in an entirely new market, estimate of demand is not possible initially. So the product will be launched in 2 phases. Phase 1: 25 buses which the business aims to sell in 3 months Particular High end Luxury Volvo/Mercedes Interiors Parking Driver Maintenance Fuel Prmotions Total Per Bus Cost (in Rs.) Total Cost (in Rs) 40 lakhs 1000 lakhs 5 lakhs 125 lakhs 5 lakhs 125 lakhs 1.5 lakhs 37.5 lakhs 1 lakh 25 lakhs 1 lakh 25 lakhs 1 lakh 25 lakhs 54.5 lakhs 1362.5 lakhs Based on the demand and response in Phase 1, the business will launch anywhere between 100-1000 buses in Phase 2.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Blue Ocean Strategy: Creation of an entirely new category and hence Free India will get a first mover advantage
Problems of real estate availibility and cost along with traffic problems in metro cities will boost sales volumes Benefits to employees like lunches at desired locations, pick-and-drop service and other benefits than do not exist in a stationary office.

Advertising firms, small consultancies etc with number of employees ranging from 50-70 can make good potential clients and need to be tapped
The horizontal space available in India can be efficiently utilized as workspace Since it is a capital intentive category, barriers to entry will be huge and hence we should try to capture major market share in a short span

Strengths

Opportunities

Working in a stationary office ingrained in the culture of the country and hence that mindblock needs to be removed It cannot occupy a large company with more employees since for such a firm, a vertical structure is more favourable High capital cost of buses, furniture, internet services, drainage system etc inside a vehicle

If more players enter this category, government regulations might come into force for this segment of business Maintaining drainage systems, internet connections etc in a mobile office might prove to be a challenge Threat of established builders entering the category and taking advantage of their huge capital to provide better and more sophisticated services.

Weeknesses

Challenges

PRIMARY RESEARCH
On surveying 56 employees of different companies and MDs/Owners/CEOs of 7 small firms, we obtained the following results.
Do you often get stuck in traffic while travelling to/from office? Would you prefer to work while travelling if all amenities are provided to reduce time loss?

Yes

Yes

No

No

Would you like to take breaks at outdoor locations without wasting work time?

If work time was not lost, would you lunch outside and not at the office cafetaria more often?

Yes

Yes

No

No

Is it difficult to find and afford real estate today to establish your firm?

Would you mind going for a cheaper alternative to land for firming up your business?

Yes

Yes

No

No

THE PROMOTIONS
Live experience demo of Free India Offices Digital Marketing and Social Media: YouTube: Creating a campaign Free India offices emphasizing its utilities and benefits Facebook: Creating a dedicated Free India Offices page wherein all the information about our offerings and interactive activities to keep the people involved will be carried out Twitter: Creating a twitter handle to post updates, links to blogs, recent happenings etc and use #FreeIndiaOffices will be used to categorize Tweets with these keyword and help them show more easily in Twitter Search Hoardings at strategic locations e.g.: located in and around Corporate Parks Articles in Elite business magazines & Newspaper advertisement Send brochures to Select Corporates and firms Dedicated website for Free India Offices Search Engine Optimization to appear in the first few search display results Sales Promotion: Sales force incentives and variable pays

GOVERTMENT REGULATIONS AND LICENCES

To buy a commercial vehicle, licensing will be required for the Mumbai BMC. After obtaining the licence, the business requires a licence from the Mumbai RTO. The business will also fall under certain government regulations related to parking spaces at the BEST Depots or any other parking stop in the city. Free India will also have to enter into an agreement with BMC for maintaining a drainage system into the bus. Once major players enter the industry, these regulations of parking at public spaces might become stricter and Free India Offices might face challenges on the political front to expand and establish the business. All these regulations will have to be looked upon and worked upon with the government once the business starts rolling

BENEFITS
Free India Offices would lead to increased mobility. It would reduce travel time for employees thus enabling employees to spend more time at work and with their family, increasing their productivity and level of satisfaction with work. It would allow employees to have lunch at far off places without any time wastage. It would allow them to take short breaks in gardens, parks, or even by the beach rather than within the confinement of an office as it happens now. It would increase mobility to travel to different places, and easily organize employee get together events. It will enable clients to create a unique work culture and give more power to their employees for the kinds of lifestyles they want to lead. This system would help to keep employees always fresh and active by allowing them access to fee open space as and when they like. It will solve the difficulty of number of companies who cant expand due to shortage of real estate and its exorbitance. Ultimately this will lead to more loyal employees, who will stay with the company for longer and contribute to long term success of the company. Thus this system benefits companies and well as employees and would completely revolutionize the way India works!

CHALLENGES
One of the major challenges this segment will face is that of customer trust. Since it is an entirely new category of business based on disruptive innovation and it involves huge cost for the company to rent/buy the product, initially the potential customers may be wary of utilizing this service. Overcoming this challenge will be one of the major path breaker for the business Working around the government licensing and business since Free India Ltd will be using public infrastructure will also be a tough challenge to conquer Since this service will be in direct competition with builders and contractors, Free India Ltd. faces serious threat from the community of builders getting together and lobbying against the business Building a luxurious, sound proof mobile service with all amenities in itself will also be a challenge for the company since the products comfort and convenience forms the backbone of the firm without which it will not sell.