Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jonathan Cohen. The Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City (referred as “Bridj Kansas” 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, IT.

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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City Case Study

In late 2016, Bridj was expanding its digital platform to help address urban mobility problems faced by cities across the country and the world. Its founder and CEO, Matt George, weighed up several possible strategies for growth as he aimed to responsibly build the company. George continued to engage with key stakeholders, and had decided to work in partnerships with Kansas City and Ford to expand Bridj's reach to the midwest. This B case on Bridj allows for a discussion of the company's new options given its public-private partnership with Kansas City, and provides additional examples of how George's strategy to engage with key stakeholders has helped Bridj to grow.

Case Authors : Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jonathan Cohen

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas : IT

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10012544)	-10012544	-	-
Year 1	3470908	-6541636	3470908	0.9434	3274442
Year 2	3963160	-2578476	7434068	0.89	3527198
Year 3	3936515	1358039	11370583	0.8396	3305174
Year 4	3231019	4589058	14601602	0.7921	2559270
TOTAL			14601602		12666083

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2653539

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

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. Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City

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 Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj Kansas 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	(10012544)	-10012544	-	-
Year 1	3470908	-6541636	3470908	0.8696	3018181
Year 2	3963160	-2578476	7434068	0.7561	2996718
Year 3	3936515	1358039	11370583	0.6575	2588323
Year 4	3231019	4589058	14601602	0.5718	1847346
TOTAL					10450567

The Net NPV after 4 years is 438023

(10450567 - 10012544 )

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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	(10012544)	-10012544	-	-
Year 1	3470908	-6541636	3470908	0.8333	2892423
Year 2	3963160	-2578476	7434068	0.6944	2752194
Year 3	3936515	1358039	11370583	0.5787	2278076
Year 4	3231019	4589058	14601602	0.4823	1558169
TOTAL					9480862

The Net NPV after 4 years is -531682

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9480862 - 10012544 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj Kansas has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj Kansas, then the stock price of the Bridj Kansas 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 Bridj Kansas 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 can impact the cash flow of the project.

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

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

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.

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 Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City

References & Further Readings

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Jonathan Cohen (2018), "Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.