Can you give an example in the Kenyan contact? This is quite abstract...

I have to say I like PESTEL.I have spent a considerable amount of time getting familiar with the components and its personally helped me understand the world better as well as compliment how approach investments.It is a powerful framework and I hope you will gain from it as I have.

As we embark on scanning the environment for opportunities and threats I shall begin by differentiating the two most important categories of the environment,namely the macro-environment and micro-environment.

The micro-environment is considered the industry perspective.Industry is the direct environment your venture operates in or in the case of multiple products,the industry in which you have products in.It is a fairly easy analysis compared to the macro-environment but we will discuss that later on.

The macro-environment encompasses a wider perspective.It involves just about every aspect of our lives you can think of.Now that sounds like a big claim but I am willing to back it up.Everything inside and outside the industry can be said to be the macro-environment.It is the aggregate influence caused by various factors interacting with each other in diverse ways.This will become clearer as we discuss the factors.

Indeed this will test the resilience of many as it presents itself as a cumbersome endeavor even futile.In a way it is but that should not deter us for we can still gain from it.I say that simply because we cannot know everything about our environment but we can spot trends.The opportunities and threats we are looking for are in these trends.Because the macro-environment is vast,change usually takes time and patterns develop into trends showing the general direction of this environment.

PESTEL assists us to do just that,scan and sieve through the information to identify current trends as well as illuminate possible future trends.It is an important tool in strategy.

These are the components in PESTEL:

P - Political factors
E - Economical factors
S - Socio-cultural factors
T - Technological factors
E - Environmental/Ecological factors
L - Legal factors

The factors themselves are highly dependent on each other.Activities in one factor will more often than not affect one or all factors.This butterfly effect spreads to the industry as well as other areas of our lives.Not all changes will have an impact.Sometimes even what is considered a big change in a factor will have a negligible effect and other times small changes in many factors has a big impact.

It isn't as scary as it may seem.Surprisingly these are factors you are exposed to everyday.From news,fashion,religion and other aspects of our lives.What we will try and do is utilize all that information as well as make new meaning from it.

Analysis deals with information.Information is either subjective or objective.An example of objective information would be the population of a country.Minus the expected errors it remains largely factual and little or no room for interpretation.

Subjective information can be highly dependent on opinion.It is more about the interpretation of facts than the facts themselves.For example,explaining the trends in population change can be highly subjective.When dealing with subjective information I suggest you don't subscribe to only one view point.Expose yourself to various dimensions and arguments and in so doing you will hopefully avoid bias and attain accuracy in your analysis.

We can now start on Political factors.

Objective:
Develop a SWOT analysis within a year and use findings to draft a business plan.

Goals:

1.Perform a PESTEL analysis on the macroenviroment

1.a - Identify scope of analysis e.g. global,regional or national depending on the area the venture operates or wishes to operate in.

Scope:
(i).Kenya - Find out if you are preserving the products for local markets.If its for local markets are you storing local produce or imported produce which isn't available in Kenya.

(ii).International - Standards for food preservation and trade agreements.

Factors to consider:
a.Political factors- Corruption when exporting and importing products within customs and such issues. Relations within countries e.g. sanctions,trade agreements and such.Political will e.g. setting up a food storage facility in arid areas.If such is on governments plan it would create an opportunity.

b.Economical factors - Food prices and inflation in regions you wish to operate in.Also consider currency.Taxation,subsidies and incentives if any.Labor costs for the region you wish to operate in.Apart from labor an understanding of the skills available in the region to better understand if the project can be installed and maintained by locals.Infrastructure will affect transportation and distribution decisions.Oil should also be considered and its effects on the venture.

c.Socia-cultural factors - Trends when it comes to the products you want to store.Are people more concerned about fast foods or healthy eating basically lifestyle trends.Market perception on refrigerated products or other beliefs and values about the products.Understanding of demographics is vital.It might affect location of the facility.Attitudes towards imported goods if you're operating in different regions.

d.Technological factors - Solar is in alternative energy solutions so research about solar and other such solutions.Refrigeration technologies should also be researched on.If your location is in hot and dry areas you should also consider technologies that convert heat into energy as a supplement.Things to consider,energy requirements and if solar energy can meet them and what will you need to meet them e.g. preferred solar exposure.

e.Environmental factors - What effects will the venture have on the environment both negative and positive.Find out the requirements for the region you are operating in.

f.Legal factors - I would think the majority of legal factors would be generated by the other factors.


1.b - Identify relevant sources of information and collect data.

Government agencies e.g. legal requirements,economic information and other requirements. Social media for understanding social factors better.Also interviews with supermarket managers and such will help.Since it deals with specialized information consulting engineers and the likes is important.Network to find out about corruption at different agencies.Industry reports for both international and local(if applicable) on trends in cold storage.It can help you to get acquainted with the venture and its issues quite fast.

1.c - Analyze data and record findings.

1.d - Identify areas of importance and create a system for continuous review to keep abreast with changes in the macroenvironment.

I believe change in technology is one very important factor to continuously review.Since the venture is capital intensive and change in assets might not be so easy,I would suggest implementing solutions that makes upgrades easier.


Before I go on,is this the kind of example you wanted?

@oltome,jsut send them to wazua@googlegroups.com