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Explain the importance of supply chain management
Explain the importance of supply chain management
Importance of operations and supply chain management
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Arm and Hammer Case Study
ARM & HAMMER is a well-established company with a strong reputation in North American market and yet its international expansion efforts are not as effective as expected by top management. Narrow product line is one of the limited factors, whereas management team does not operation successfully, heavily relying on acquisition as the preferred market expansion strategy. SWOT analysis of ARM & HAMMER’s assets and decisions reveals that the company has enormous potential for growth and increase in market share, however, the development of an efficient market strategy is essential. In particular, it is recommended for the company to invest more financial and human resources into competition analysis and international market expansion strategic planning.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
ARM & HAMMER is a company that has many strengths. First, it is essential to mention its strong brand recognition and market reputation. For over a century of its existence, the company’s name because a synonym to baking soda. Brand recognition is an apparent advantage of the company because several generations are used to purchasing products marketed by ARM & HAMMER and they pass their preference from one generation to another. Brand loyalty also implies that competitors have fewer chances to take away the market share controlled by ARM & HAMMER because buyers are loyal to the baking soda and related products offered by ARM & HAMMER.
Another important strength is the control over and easy access to natural raw resources. As in any other industry, consumer and specialty products manufacturing largely depends on suppliers of raw materials. ARM & HAMMER eliminates the bargaining power of supplies and secures the steady inflow of raw m...
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... supplies) and manufacturing facilities. If this strategy is chosen for international market expansion, the company will also benefit by diversifying its brand portfolio. Consequently, the weakness related to low brand recognition of ARM & HAMMER will be addressed as well.
Finally, ARM & HAMMER has a successful record of marketing its products through retail. By meeting needs of ordinary consumers, the company does not fully utilize its potential to expand customer base by redirecting its attention toward industrial customers. Unrestricted access to raw materials may turn ARM & HAMMER into a leader in industrial product manufacturing. The orders for governments and businesses may boost profitability and extensively increase the sales volume, providing the company with extra funds that are critically needed for marketing efforts and international market expansion.
...establish it as a national brand, but also strengthen the corporate image and market presence of Wal-Mart as a parent brand of Dr. Thunder.
Nevertheless, it must “defend” its current market share if not increase it, by maintaining premium quality and develop innovative products. The marketing mix strategies will effectively achieve targeted revenue and profitability in the near future.
The strategy for competing in the market was a broad-differentiation strategy. It was broad because it produced a large variety of products such as clamps, inserts, knobs, and similar items. Also, it differentiates from the other metal companies because of its good quality, good delivery, and reasonable price.
‘The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis often forms the bedrock of any product planning process. It provides a simple yet effective framework for analysing both internal resources and external trends and competitors’ (Pender, L, 1999: 179)
Black & Decker (B&D) is a global manufacturer and the world’s largest producer of power tools, power tool accessories, electric lawn and garden tools, and residential security hardware. The company was a pioneer in innovation and development of power tools and has used that position to build strong brand names that enjoy worldwide recognition. Key Causes for Poor Performance in the Professional-Tradesmen Segment The reason B&D has performed poorly in the professional-tradesmen segment is due to the positioning of the B&D brand in this segment. Poor positioning of the brand has resulted in customer confusion and negatively impacted customer perception of the brand in terms of being a quality product. B&D Performance in the Power Tool Industry Overall Any adjustments to B&D’s strategy in the professional-tradesmen segment must not have an adverse impact on their success in the consumer or professional-industrial segments. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the needs of each segment will be important in building a viable strategy to challenge Makita in the professional-tradesmen segment, while continuing to maintain share in the other two segments. _Consumer _Segment Professional-Tradesmen Segment This category consists of professionals who are buying a product for their own use on a job site. Their livelihood depends on the quality and performance, as well as the reflection on their skills that using a particular tool brings from others on the job site. Since they are purchasing their own tools, this segment needs this high quality performance at a reasonable price. However, since Makita and Milwaukee are both priced higher than B&D and are seeing greater success in this category, tradesmen are clearly willing to pay more for a product they perceive will be more effective for their use. Key needs for this market segment include: Performance and quality - {text:change} does the job needed to be done, doesn’t break down, produces high-quality results and more efficiently gets the job done. Reliability and durability - does the job every time and can be used for an extended period of heavy continual use. Safety Support from the Manufacturer – if the product breaks or performs poorly, access to replacement parts and service will be key in maximizing performance up-time.
This department is a major contributor to Hasbro’s business strategy. As the company enters into third party agreements for the production of raw materials such as cardboard, paper, plastic, and chemicals, the company is exposed to changes in prices. In this situation, negotiations have a major role in determining the cost of materials, having a direct relationship with the profits of the company. Currently, all of the third party vendors for Hasbro are located in China, as they give the lowest cost of production and contribute to giving value to the co...
The business environment is increasingly becoming competitive and challenging. In the recent past, manufacturers have found themselves facing the threat of dwindling profit margins due to unfortunate global events such as the 2007 global financial crisis and the on going Europe economic crisis. The need to improve operation efficiency so as to ensure current and future investment yield the highest rate of return has therefore become extremely important. Manufacturers are now actively engaged in, managing their costs, Research and Development, adopting best procurement strategies, among other Actions. While such actions might eventually lead to positive results, additional business value can be achieved through proper management of the supply chain (Waymer, Ivanaj & Mussa 2009; Krivda 2004).
Porter’s five forces is a framework for analyzing an industry and business strategy development. It looks at forces that determine the competitive intensity of an industry and hence the overall attractiveness of that industry. The configuration of the five forces differs by industry. Understanding the competitive forces and their underlying causes reveals the roots of an industry’s current profitability while providing a framework for anticipating and influencing competition over time.
In a world of free trade, growing competition and accessibility to foreign markets, the need for methodical market analysis and assumptions is steadily rising in today’s business environment. It is just a normal way of thinking to primarily intent to eliminate the financial before entering a new and foreign market. This suggests that enterprises have to develop an overall strategy for their business in order to gain competitive advantage and consequently market share. With the words of Michael E. Porter, professor at Harvard University and leading authority on competitive strategy, this desirable market success is indirectly linked to the individual structure of a market. The unique structure of a single market influences the strategic behaviour and the development of a competitive strategy within a firm. The competitive strategy finally decides whether a company performs successfully on the market or not. Referring to this interpretation of business success, M. E. Porter established his five forces framework that enables directives to gather useful information about the business environment and the competitive forces in industries.
The company has diversified so much that it has lost its core competency. Also, the acquired businesses are irrelevant in nature. The tool business needs a ‘Business to Business’ type of marketing. However, some of the firms are ‘Business to Consumer’ (e.g. Bakery Business, Dry cleaning store chain) and ‘Business to Government’ (e.g. Firm engaged in Defence research work) as well. So, lack of integration of the business is one of the key issues we need to address.
Lean manufacturing and just-in-time processing are great business strategies that can severely stress a supply chain. The supply chain and supply chain management is a critical operations management element for any major company to succeed and remain competitive in the global market. The supply chain is one of many pieces critical to maximizing value to the end customer and requires close management to minimize external impacts. If a company is relying on another company to supply the raw materials needed for their production line, then impacts to this other company could impact their supply chain. Careful risk management is needed to optimize performance. As a company expands into global markets and global suppliers, this risk and management challenge is multiplied. The global nature of the company could impact important activities such as transportation, funds transfers, suppliers, distributors, accounting and information sharing. Disruption to the supply chain can significantly reduce revenue, cut market share, inflate costs and threaten production. A major disruption would have obvious impacts to profit, but could have additional intangible impacts to the credibility of the company if products are not delivered on time.
Wal-Mart started out as a five and dime store by Sam Walton back in the 1950’s in Rogers, Arkansas. From those humble beginnings, Wal-Mart is now the world’s largest corporation passing the likes of U.S. Steel & GM with over $256 Billion in sales for one year announced at an annual stockholders meeting. What makes Wal-Mart so successful? The rise of technology and the explosion of the global economy, coupled with the effort of keeping prices as low as possible has propelled the conglomerate into becoming the world leader in logistics. They were one of the first to understand the power of the barcode. They also shifted the industry from ‘Push’ to ‘Pull’ production, meaning retailers would decide what and how much a manufacturer should produce. Due to the power possessed by Wal-Mart, other companies and suppliers have set up satellite offices around their corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.
In order to ensure the success of a brand the company must put lots of planning and thought into the brands elements. The three brands I have chosen to examine in this branding exercise are Apple, Coca-Cola, and Target because they demonstrate many of the criteria used to evaluate brand success.
...e different supply chain mechanism ultimately helped Morrison to be strong and stable in replying the customer. In the following there have been some strategies that have been introduced in Morrison to survive and to make profit in the competitive market.
My second interest in Supply Chain Management arose from my assessment that it is a ‘rational’ specialty. I understood that its simplistic applications could find solutions for essential needs of humanity. I realized that Mechanical Engineering has an enormous reach from automobiles and manufacturing to medical equipment and nanotechnology. I studied an extremely stimulating curriculum diligently focusing on Basic Mechanical Engineering and Operations research which gave me a holistic overview of the engineering field. Hence, my penchant for the range and extent of science with Mechanical engineering as the cynosure grew.