The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Vlad Krotov. The The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities (referred as “Iot Article” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Leadership & Managing People. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Entrepreneurship, Internet.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities Case Study

Since the Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging phenomenon, there is a lack of holistic understanding of what IoT is and what business opportunities it can offer for entrepreneurs and existing companies. This article has three main parts. First, it introduces IoT as a broad, socio-technical phenomenon. As a part of this goal, the article covers various elements within the technological, physical, and socioeconomic environment that comprise IoT. Second, this article proposes two approaches for creating new business models using IoT: a sustaining approach and a disruptive approach. The article concludes with a brief reflection on the extent to which the future of IoT can be predicted. This discussion brings up the limitations of the approach for creating new business models outlined in this article and provides guidelines on how this approach should be used. The ultimate goal of this article is to stimulate thinking, creativity, and entrepreneurship in relation to the IoT.

Case Authors : Vlad Krotov

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas : Entrepreneurship, Internet

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10004631)	-10004631	-	-
Year 1	3461395	-6543236	3461395	0.9434	3265467
Year 2	3965277	-2577959	7426672	0.89	3529082
Year 3	3940713	1362754	11367385	0.8396	3308699
Year 4	3231016	4593770	14598401	0.7921	2559267
TOTAL			14598401		12662515

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2657884

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Profitability Index
2. Payback Period
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Iot Article shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Iot Article have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Leadership & Managing People Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Iot Article often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Iot Article needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10004631)	-10004631	-	-
Year 1	3461395	-6543236	3461395	0.8696	3009909
Year 2	3965277	-2577959	7426672	0.7561	2998319
Year 3	3940713	1362754	11367385	0.6575	2591083
Year 4	3231016	4593770	14598401	0.5718	1847344
TOTAL					10446654

The Net NPV after 4 years is 442023

(10446654 - 10004631 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10004631)	-10004631	-	-
Year 1	3461395	-6543236	3461395	0.8333	2884496
Year 2	3965277	-2577959	7426672	0.6944	2753665
Year 3	3940713	1362754	11367385	0.5787	2280505
Year 4	3231016	4593770	14598401	0.4823	1558167
TOTAL					9476833

The Net NPV after 4 years is -527798

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9476833 - 10004631 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Iot Article to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Iot Article has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Iot Article can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Iot Article, then the stock price of the Iot Article should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Iot Article should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities

References & Further Readings

Vlad Krotov (2018), "The Internet of Things and New Business Opportunities Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.