Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model 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 Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Miao Cui, Yupan Guo, Yan Zhao, Sitara Aziz. The Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model (referred as “Jiemo Dalian” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, 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 Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model Case Study

Jiemo.net (Jiemo), an Internet-based study-abroad consultant agency headquartered in Dalian, China, began in 2010 by providing application support to customers who wished to apply to study abroad. In 2014, the company discovered that profit existed in providing services to students once they had been accepted to study abroad. Jiemo changed its traditional pricing model, used social media marketing, and collaborated with other agencies to establish an ecosystem for these students. The result was that Jiemo acquired customers by providing free Internet-based application support ("front end" services), and reaped profits by providing services that those customers needed once they were studying abroad ("back end" services). However, as Jiemo grew, the designed profit model was not supporting growth. Jiemo had to modify the model. Should it improve the back end services to reduce costs and gain more profit from existing customers, or explore the needs of potential customers and add new services? Miao Cui is affiliated with Dalian University of Technology. Yupan Guo is affiliated with Dalian University of Technology.

Case Authors : Miao Cui, Yupan Guo, Yan Zhao, Sitara Aziz

Topic : Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Related Areas : Internet

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10002839)	-10002839	-	-
Year 1	3471161	-6531678	3471161	0.9434	3274680
Year 2	3956583	-2575095	7427744	0.89	3521345
Year 3	3940176	1365081	11367920	0.8396	3308248
Year 4	3248847	4613928	14616767	0.7921	2573391
TOTAL			14616767		12677664

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2674825

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. Net Present Value
3. Payback Period
4. Internal Rate of Return

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

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model

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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Jiemo Dalian 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 Jiemo Dalian 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	(10002839)	-10002839	-	-
Year 1	3471161	-6531678	3471161	0.8696	3018401
Year 2	3956583	-2575095	7427744	0.7561	2991745
Year 3	3940176	1365081	11367920	0.6575	2590730
Year 4	3248847	4613928	14616767	0.5718	1857539
TOTAL					10458415

The Net NPV after 4 years is 455576

(10458415 - 10002839 )

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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	(10002839)	-10002839	-	-
Year 1	3471161	-6531678	3471161	0.8333	2892634
Year 2	3956583	-2575095	7427744	0.6944	2747627
Year 3	3940176	1365081	11367920	0.5787	2280194
Year 4	3248847	4613928	14616767	0.4823	1566766
TOTAL					9487222

The Net NPV after 4 years is -515617

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9487222 - 10002839 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Jiemo Dalian 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 Jiemo Dalian has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Jiemo Dalian 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 Jiemo Dalian, then the stock price of the Jiemo Dalian 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 Jiemo Dalian 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 will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

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.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

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.

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 Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model

References & Further Readings

Miao Cui, Yupan Guo, Yan Zhao, Sitara Aziz (2018), "Jiemo.net: How to Position a Profit Model Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.