Two Wheeled Oracle

Executive Summary

Two Wheeled Oracle (TWO) is a bicycle-based courier service serving Portland, Oregon attorneys and law firms. Two Wheeled Oracle can transport documents and small parcels to clients, other law firms, as well as transport and file documents with the clerk of courts. Law firms will be the primary group of customers and the only one targeted. Two Wheeled Oracle will also serve non-law-firm customers, but will not target this area of the market.

Two Wheeled Oracle will offer reliability and industry insight to law firms enabling TWO to provide superior service relative to the current service providers. Reliability is an important variable for service to law firms because firms have many court imposed time constraints put on them that are inflexible. By providing professional, reliable service, Two Wheeled Oracle will be able to rapidly gain market share. Previous legal experience also provides TWO with a competitive edge over the competition. Profitability will be reached by month nine and revenue for year three will be in excess of $300,000.

Situation Analysis

TWO is entering their first year of operation. In order to achieve the market penetration that is forecasted, marketing must become a dominant business activity. TWO offers the legal community a reliable, professional, delivery service that can provide service of notice and document delivery to opposing counsel as well as document delivery to the clerk of courts. The basic market need is a reliable service that can support all needs a law firm may have.

Market Summary

TWO possess good information about the market and has excellent information about the common characteristics of the most prized customers. This information will be used to better understand who is served, their specific needs, and the best way to communicate with them.

Market Analysis

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Potential Customers Growth CAGR

Law Firms 9% 287 313 341 372 405 8.99%

Assorted Customers 6% 5,487 5,816 6,165 6,535 6,927 6.00%

Other 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0.00%

Total 6.15% 5,774 6,129 6,506 6,907 7,332 6.15%

Market Needs

Two Wheeled Oracle is providing its customers with a fast, reliable document delivery service throughout the Portland downtown area. TWO seeks to fulfill the following benefits that are important to their customers:

• Professionalism: While the delivery service does not inherently represent the firm, the firm will not use a service that is not professional to avoid any type of "halo effect" where the actions of the delivery service are interpreted to be indicative of the firm itself.

• Expedited Service: Law firms conduct business within a set of closely monitored, court imposed rules of punctuality. The deliveries must always be made on time. This not a concern for TWO because they utilize a redundant backup system, ensuring prompt delivery.

Market Trends

The market trend for the industry is a shift from court document delivery to opposing counsel document delivery. There has been a subtle shift in the legal industry within the last five to 10 years of a decrease in court litigation with an increase in cases settled prior to trial. There are many possible reasons for this observance:

• An elevation of the client's best interests that are often addressed through settlement instead of litigation.

• The incorporation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) within the law school curriculum during this time frame.

• Increased delays for court dates and trials making settlement more attractive. Within the last seven years, litigants wait on average 2.3 months for their case to come to trial.

Market Growth

In 2000, the document delivery market in Portland alone achieved $12 million in revenue. As more people turn to lawyers to solve their problems, whether through litigation or ADR, the market will continue to grow at 5% a year. This growth is forecasted to continue for the next four years.

SWOT Analysis

The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the company and describes the opportunities and threats