Operations decides how the business makes or prepares what it sells. Marketing decides what to sell, at what price, where and how customers hear about it. The two plans must agree with each other.
This lesson is part of entrepreneurship and business preparation. It uses the resources from identifying resources needed to start a fictional business.
What goes into an operations and marketing plan?
Write a short weekly routine, then the four marketing decisions.
| Decision | Question for the case |
|---|---|
| Product | what exactly is sold, in what size? |
| Price | what does one unit cost, and what is the selling price? |
| Place | where do customers buy or collect? |
| Promotion | how will customers hear about it? |
The routine comes first, because it shows whether the plan can be carried out.
Worked example: Nurul’s weekly plan
Nurul sells small potted herbs at a weekend market. She plans 40 pots for a weekend.
Operations. Wednesday: buy 40 seedlings and 3 bags of soil. Thursday: fill the pots and plant the seedlings.
Friday: water and label the pots. Saturday: set up the stall and sell.
Cost per pot. Pot RM1.50, soil RM0.80 (from a RM12 bag that fills 15 pots), seedling RM1.00. Cost per pot = 1.50 + 0.80 + 1.00 = RM3.30.
Product and price. A small pot is sold for RM6.50. Margin per pot = 6.50 − 3.30 = RM3.20.
Place. A weekend market stall near the food court, where families walk past.
Promotion. A signboard with the herb names and a handwritten “fresh this week” label.
Profit check for 40 pots. Revenue = 40 × 6.50 = RM260. Cost = 40 × 3.30 = RM132. Profit = 260 − 132 = RM128, before the signboard and any stall fee.
The operations plan, the price and the profit check use the same numbers, so the plan agrees with itself.
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to write promotion only and skip operations and cost. “Use social media” says nothing about whether the stall can deliver or earn a profit.
| Step | Wrong | Right |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | use social media | signboard at the market near the food court |
| Operations | not stated | buy Wednesday, pot Thursday, sell Saturday |
| Price | RM6.50, no basis | cost RM3.30, margin RM3.20 |
| Check | none | 40 pots give RM128 profit before other costs |
A plan that shows how it will be delivered is a plan the reader can trust.
Check yourself
A cake seller makes 20 cupcakes. Ingredients cost RM1.40 per cupcake and boxes cost RM0.60 per cupcake. She sells each cupcake for RM4. Find the profit on 20 cupcakes.
Answer
Cost per cupcake = 1.40 + 0.60 = RM2.00.
Revenue = 20 × 4 = RM80. Cost = 20 × 2 = RM40. Profit = 80 − 40 = RM40.
The margin per cupcake is RM2, and 20 cupcakes give RM40 before any other costs.
What to study next
Go on to using official sources for administrative requirements. Then try the practice set.
The business case answer planner helps you set out operations and marketing side by side. For a teacher to check your plan, see online one-to-one Business tuition.