Creation of a business plan for the retail after-sales platform Prodisfy

Details

Supervisors

Frank Janssen

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en Ingénieur de gestion

Abstract

Team CEO Sebastian Daus (Uber, Capgemini Consulting, Rocket Internet) CMO Charles Heymans (CEMS & Business Engineering at LSM, Soka for Goma) CPO Robert Heyse (CEMS & Business Engineering at LSM, Daimler) CTO Antoine Boxho (Business Engineering at Solvay, McKinsey) Project Prodisfy is an after-sales customer experience platform that connects retailers and customers seamlessly by bundling all product lifecycle interactions in a single channel. We revolutionize the interaction with products by giving offline and online shoppers a simplified and satisfying experience which allows them to manage, improve and take care of their products by providing relevant information and support features in a unique way. Leveraging our online platform, mobile app and point of sale integration, we connect any brand directly to its customers - with or without an online presence, with or without brick-and-mortar stores. Why now? In a hyper-competitive market, retailers increasingly invest in customer experience to differentiate themselves. Analysis of customer data can increase efficiencies in marketing and customer service, while also fueling product innovation. Consumers are becoming more and more demanding and increasingly expect convenience from retailers. Market Prodisfy is operating in the retail customer experience market. Worldwide, retailers spend over €370bn on customer experience related IT and software every year. With our estimated conversion rate and customer lifetime value, we target €40m revenues in Germany. We will grow further by integrating offline retailers and growing into other customer experience related areas such as customer service, feedback, third party offers and more. Users On the consumer side, we target 20-39 year-old smartphone users who are managing their own household. On the retailer side, we first target online retailers in the Electronics segment, while progressively expanding to the Fashion and Home & DIY verticals, as well as the offline space. We will reach out to managers in charge of customer experience and IT budgets. Product Strategy We are going to grow our two-sided platform by focusing on the consumer users first, providing value through an extensive product database. A first MVP is already online in form of a chatbot. By January 2019, we will have a working smartphone application with core features on the market. For retailers, we will make customer data available through an API that connects to existing marketing and customer service software, as well as our own software that prepares consumer data and facilitates consumer interactions in a user-friendly way. Financing and Profitability Our financial plan accounts for a pre-seed round of €50.000 to launch the platform, raised from the founders and a business angel. We expect to raise a seed round of €1 million in Q1 2019 and a Series A of €5 million in Q2 2020 from Venture Capital investors. Prodisfy will become profitable in its fourth year, thanks to substantial investments in our marketing campaigns. Vision Our vision is to “make customers kings and queens” by enabling retail brands to provide the best customer experience everywhere. Our long-term objective is to integrate every retailer into our platform, making it the leading platform for after-sales interactions worldwide.