Free Ready-Made Feasibility Study Template (100% Free)
.png "Free Ready-Made Feasibility Study Template (100% Free)")
A sample feasibility study helps you make an objective decision about moving forward with a proposed project. A feasibility study should have broad considerations when considering the implementation of a new project. It must take into account things like technological constraints, market and marketing strategy, labor requirements, schedule, and financial projections. In this article, you will learn about the most important components of a vital feasibility study, and you will also find a free downloadable ready-made feasibility study template in Arabic and English, which will help you quickly start your feasibility study.
Why conduct a sample feasibility study?
If you try to read an example feasibility study, you will realize that it is a document that analyzes factors relevant to a particular project including scheduling considerations, legal, economic and technical considerations. This document helps ensure successful completion of the project.
The main reason behind creating a project feasibility study document is to check whether or not you should allocate your time and resources in this project. The feasibility study may reveal new challenges or concepts that may change the entire scope of the project. It is better to make such decisions in advance than to rush into a project, only to realize later that it will not work.
A feasibility study template is an invaluable and convenient project management tool that helps companies research and assess the risks associated with a proposed project or operation. Writing a comprehensive feasibility study template is the ultimate responsibility of the project managers and the relevant department. This document requires in-depth research and insight into current corporate practices and problems and also knowledge of how different solutions affect a particular business environment.
Simply put, conducting a feasibility study gives you a clearer picture of whether or not the project is financially and technically feasible.
To help you understand better, let’s have an example of a feasibility study.
Free feasibility study template
1. Executive summary
The executive summary provides an overview of the content contained in the feasibility study document. Many people write this section after the rest of the document is complete. This section is important because it provides a higher level summary of the details in the rest of the document. Remember to remove the green indicative part of the feasibility study form before making the document final.
Alan’s Best Chocolates (ABC) is a leading seller of chocolate and confectionery products throughout the United States. ABC products are sold from 50 stores nationwide and maintain their reputation for superior taste and quality. While ABC’s sales have grown over the past ten years, the rate of growth has slowed significantly. One of the major drivers of this slow growth rate is the shift in the market to buying chocolates and sweets online. While ABC maintains a website, They are unable to host an e-commerce platform for online sales. ABC sales only occur in its brick-and-mortar facilities, and the company is losing potential customers to competitors offering online sales. The chocolate and confectionery market is healthy and shows a continuous growth trajectory over the next 5 to 10 years. ABC is positioned to capitalize on this online market by leveraging current technologies, industry best practices and an aggressive marketing and sales campaign to ramp up the company’s growth projections for the foreseeable future.
2. Description of products and services
This section of the feasibility study provides a high-level description of the products and/or services that are considered to precede the feasibility study. The purpose of this section is to provide detailed descriptions of exactly what the organization has in mind so that this information can be applied to the following sections of the document. It is important that this description captures the most important aspects of the products and/or services the organization is considering as well as how they can benefit customers and the organization.
ABC is considering a move to create and provide an online platform to sell its existing product line. To date, ABC has only sold products from its chain of brick-and-mortar facilities and has limited sales within the geographic areas in which its stores are located. In doing so, ABC was unable to capitalize on the growing trend of online sales within the chocolate and confectionery market. By offering its products through an online platform, ABC can market its products in an entirely new market, increase revenue and growth prospects, and allow customers to purchase our products from the comfort of their own home.
No changes are proposed to existing ABC product offerings as a result of this study. Online sales will only include current products and any changes to this product line should be considered outside the purpose of this document.
3. Technology considerations
This section of the feasibility study should explain any considerations that the organization should make regarding the technology. Many new initiatives rely on technology to manage or monitor various business functions. New technology may be developed in-house or contracted through a service provider and always result in costs that must be weighed in determining the path forward.
The developed technology capability will be required for ABC to move toward offering an online marketplace where customers can purchase our products. Customers demand a simple and easy way to transact online and it is imperative that all transactions are conducted in a secure manner. While ABC maintains a website with product listings and descriptions, it does not currently allow online purchases. This functionality must be integrated with our existing website to allow secure purchases. In addition, new online marketing functions must be considered in order to target existing and potential customers through methods such as email lists, promotional ads, and loyalty discounts.
While ABC maintains a small information technology (IT) group, the expertise does not currently exist in-house to design, build, and implement the kind of comprehensive online platform required for the effort. Therefore, the recommendation is to contract this work with an internet marketplace provider who can work with ABC to meet their needs within the given time frame and budget. It should be noted that although ABC does not have this expertise internally, the technology is present and used throughout the market which greatly reduces the risks of this concept.
ABC currently maintains a high speed internet connection, web server and latest software. With the addition of the e-commerce portal, it is expected that there will be an overall cost increase of 5-10% for web server operations and maintenance costs.
4. Market for products/services
This part of the feasibility study describes the current market for the products and/or services the organization is considering. It may describe who the target market for these products or services consists of, who the competitors are, how the products will be distributed, and why customers may choose to purchase our products/services. Most markets are dynamic environments in which things are constantly changing. Blind entry into a new market usually results in the organization not fully understanding its role and not maximizing the benefits generated by it.
The online chocolate and sweets market has been thriving for many years. In fiscal year 20xx, online chocolate sales amounted to about $20 million or 20% of all chocolate sales worldwide. While chocolates and sweets are available in almost every store, our primary market consists of specialty chocolates and sweets. All of ABC’s current major competitors have already had a solid online presence for at least 3-5 years. Currently the top three contenders are: Smith’s Chocolates, Worldwide Candy, and Chocolate International. The vast majority of ABC’s customer base is returning customers and referrals from existing customers. By providing a more convenient way to purchase our products online, we are expected to retain these customers while also conducting an online marketing campaign for new customers.
ABC will distribute online purchases via direct shipping from the nearest store location. This would allow ABC to provide timely freight and eliminate the need for a central warehouse or facility to store and ship its products. Such a facility would require a significant capital investment as well as increased operating and maintenance costs. However, based on projected growth projections, ABC must ensure that all store locations keep sufficient inventories on hand to meet customer demand.
5. Marketing strategy
The feasibility study here provides a high-level description of how the organization will market its product or service. Some topics to include are: How does the organization differentiate itself from its competitors? the types of marketing the organization will use; Who will the organization target? Marketing efforts must be focused on the right target groups in order to achieve the greatest return on investment.
To be successful, ABC must differentiate itself from competitors in order to attract customers in the online market. To do this, ABC will use its practice to customize the packaging of its products that it currently offers to customers in-store. Existing competitors do not currently offer any packaging customization. Customers will have the ability to customize messages on or within product packaging, request themes based on specific colors, or custom packaging for special occasions or events.
ABC will implement an electronic mailing list for customers to send product promotions, sales announcements and other special offers to registered customers. In addition, ABC will offer referral incentives to customers who refer our products to friends and family in order to provide additional incentives. ABC will also maintain a customer database in order to define target customer groups and geographic regions. ABC will search for providers Marketing information to determine the benefits and costs of purchasing customer information for bulk email campaigns as well. Cost is another important consideration for ABC Company’s internet marketing strategy. The costs of electronic marketing communications are very small compared to the direct mail marketing that ABC currently uses. However, we expect the additional revenue from online sales to significantly outweigh these additional e-marketing costs.
It is important to note that existing ABC marketing and sales personnel will require training in online marketing and sales practices. This training will need to be contracted with a training provider as part of our start-up costs and schedule.
6. Organization and staffing
With many new products or services, additional staffing or restructuring of the organization may be required in order to accommodate change. These are important considerations because they may increase costs or require the organization to change its practices and processes.
ABC’s online sales campaign is not expected to have a significant impact on the company’s organizational structure. However, there are many additional personnel required to successfully implement an online sales campaign. All of these functions will work within existing departments and report to Divisional Managers.
Hiring Position #1: Online Sales Manager – This full-time position will lead the sales people to identify sales opportunities and convert those opportunities into actual sales. This person will report to the ABC Sales Manager and will work at ABC headquarters.
Hiring Position #2: Online Marketing Manager – This full-time position will lead the marketing team in identifying target customer groups/markets and conducting online advertising/marketing efforts to drive traffic to the online marketplace. This person will report to the ABC Marketing Manager and will work at ABC’s HQ.
7. Indicative time frame
This section of the feasibility study aims to provide a high-level framework for implementing the product or service under consideration. This section is not intended to include a detailed timeline as it will be developed during project planning if this initiative is approved. This section may include some milestones and target timeframes for completion as a guide only.
ABC’s online sales campaign is expected to take six months from project approval to launch the e-commerce platform. Many of the foundations of this platform are already available, such as high speed internet and web server capability. Below is a high-level table of some of the important milestones of this initiative:
* January 1, 20xx: Start of the project
* February 1, 20xx: Project launch meeting
* March 1, 20xx: Online sales website design completed
* April 1, 20xx: Completed online sales site test
* June 1, 20xx: Complete beta test trials for the online sales site
* July 2, 20xx: Go live with the launch of the site
Upon approval of this project, a detailed schedule will be created by the assigned project team to include all tasks and deliverables.
8. Financial projections
The financial projections for the feasibility study provide a description of the financial projections that the new initiative is expected to yield against the incremental costs. Financial projections are one of the main aspects of new project selection criteria. There are many ways to present these projections. Net present value (NPV), cost-benefit calculations, and the balance sheet are just some examples of how financial projections can be illustrated. This section should also provide the assumptions on which the financial projections described are based.
The financial projections for adding an online sales platform for ABC are highlighted in the table below. These numbers represent projected online sales, additional staffing requirements, shipping, materials, insurance costs, contract support for IT and training needs, and web server and hosting costs.
The assumptions for these forecasts are as follows:
# Store sales forecasts remain unchanged
# All milestones are implemented according to schedule
# All transactions are closed annually without carry over to subsequent years
.png "Free Ready-Made Feasibility Study Template (100% Free)")
9. Findings and recommendations
This section of the sample feasibility study provides an area in which to summarize the findings of the feasibility study and explain why this course of action is recommended or not. This section may include a description of the pros and cons of the initiative under consideration. This section should be brief since most of the details are included elsewhere in the document. In addition, it must state the likelihood of success of the business idea being studied.
Based on the information presented in this feasibility study, it is recommended that ABC approve the online sales initiative and proceed to kick-start the project. The results of this feasibility study show that this initiative will be very beneficial to the organization and has a high probability of success. The main results are as follows:
Technique:
# You will use existing technology that minimizes project risks
# The e-commerce infrastructure will be contracted to the seller allowing ABC to share the risk
# Once this technology is easy to operate and maintain at a relatively low cost
Marketing:
# This initiative will allow ABC to reach a large number of target groups electronically and at a low cost
# ABC can expand the customer base beyond the geographic areas in which the stores are currently located
# The online chocolate and sweets market is witnessing a steady growth
# ABC is able to differentiate itself from its competitors and will use incentive programs to target new consumers
Regulatory:
# Small increases in staffing are required with no changes in organizational structure
# There are no new facilities or capital investments required
Financial issues:
# The break-even point occurs as early as the second year of operation
# The five-year forecast shows that online sales account for 25% of all sales
# ABC will be in a position to capture a larger market share by maintaining its in-store and online presence
What information should be provided in the feasibility study?
A feasibility study is an important aspect of any project. Through it, you analyze whether you should continue with the project or not given the current situation and the details of the project itself. If you are assigned to prepare a report or example for a feasibility study, include the following information:
Project Scope: You must clearly define the scope of the project or issue you plan to tackle. Also, identify the parts of your business that will be affected by the project either indirectly or directly. Creating a well-defined scope allows for the accuracy of your feasibility study.
Current Analysis: This is important for evaluating current implementation. Through this analysis, you can identify strengths and weaknesses in your current approach to help save a lot of time and money.
Project Requirements: It is important to define all requirements depending on your project goals. This helps give you a better idea of ​​what resources you need and if you have enough.
Project implementation: Next, you must decide on a recommended course of action or solution to meet the project requirements. Consider the various alternatives and choose the most viable option.
Evaluation: Here, you evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the approach and method of implementation of your chosen project along with an estimate of the total cost of the project. You can also estimate the costs of alternative options for the purpose of comparison.
Final Review: After you have combined all of these elements into your feasibility study, it is time to conduct a formal review. Use this review to check the accuracy of your feasibility study. This, in turn, helps you make a final decision on the project.
Steps for preparing a feasibility study report?
If you’ve ever read a ready-made feasibility study example, you’ll see that it’s quite technical. After all, it is an analysis of the details of a particular project. It contains a lot of important information that helps decision makers in the organization reach a more informed decision about the project.
Creating a sample feasibility study doesn’t have to be a difficult task as long as you know what information to include. To guide you, here are some tips:
Include an executive summary:
at the beginning or end of the report. The key here is the word “summary”. Emphasize the most important points in each section.
Create an outline:
Whether you plan to include the executive summary at the beginning or end of your report, creating an outline makes the job easier for you. An outline helps guide you as you write your report.
Estimating and calculating the required materials and labor:
Make a list of all the materials you need for your project. Also, include other details such as where you plan to get the materials, whether you can get discounts for bulk purchases, details about the materials, etc. You should also make a list of labor requirements regardless of the size of your project. Most of the time, labor is one of the biggest expenses you may incur on your project.
Shipping, transportation and logistics requirements:
Think about how you can begin transporting the materials you need for your project. While small items are not a problem, if you need to ship or move equipment or other heavy items, you may have to hire a trucking company or freight forwarding company.
Also include marketing requirements:
Marketing is also an important part of your project, especially if you want to reach a target audience. Think about what marketing requirements you need and how you plan to produce them.
Consider the technical requirements of your business:
Depending on the nature of your project, you may need some kind of technology during implementation. Include this component in your feasibility study and incorporate details about it into your report.
Include project target dates:
This is also important information, especially for investors and stakeholders in your projects. Target dates give them a better idea of ​​when your project will be completed.
Submission of supporting documents for financial information:
Again, this information is for the benefit of the investors and shareholders of the project. But it is also very important to have these documents with you, especially if you are in charge of the project’s finances.
You can use a template after downloading a free ready-made feasibility study template above. You can also write a feasibility study yourself using the basic steps mentioned in this article.