There exist a number of value chain activities that are used by Best Buy and that contribute greatly to the competitiveness of this enterprise. For instance, such parts of the company’s value chain activities as the inbound and outbound logistics are rather strong; the company possesses quite an effective and efficient infrastructure which allows for quite precisely calculating the future needs of the company and promptly providing all the necessary resources in order to timely deliver the goods to the client via the company’s retail stores. The marketing and sales activates carried out by the corporation are also rather strong; the organization effectually informs its potential customers about the new products, as well as about the products which are to be sold by the company in the nearest future. The customer service is also a strength; Best Buy delivers high-quality service to its consumers, in particular via one of its brands, the Geek Squad (Kenney and Khanfar 162-163).
The company of Best Buy utilizes a variety of resources and facilities in order to deliver the product to the customer. It engages in selling consumer electronics, as well as a wide range of products which are associated with it, such as software, music, cell phones, cameras, and so on. It operates in a number of countries, namely, the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico; its stores can be found in several other countries as well. In 2016, the company ran nearly 1000 Best Buy stores, approximately 330 Best Buy Mobile stand-alone shops, and almost 30 Pacific Sales shops (United States Securities and Exchange Commission). The use of these facilities permits the company to generate significant profits and remain operational and competitive in the market (Trefis Team).
On the whole, when speaking about the strengths of Best Buy, a number of aspects of the company should be mentioned. For instance, Best Buy is currently one of the most known retailers of a variety of consumer electronics in several countries; the highly positive reputation of the brands of this organization permits for greatly increasing the profits of the organization (Trefis Team). The stores that are run by the Best Buy company are usually conveniently located, which lightens the consumers’ access to them and increases the sales of the company. The enterprise also possesses quite an effectual infrastructure, which permits for timely delivery of products and services to the customers of the corporation. As has already been mentioned, the company also employs a rather effective marketing strategy, and supplies the clients with long-term, reliable warranty on their products, thus attracting new consumers and stimulating them to buy additional products. It is possible to assume that the named traits of Best Buy were some of the factors which permitted this organization to survive and thrive in the market in spite of a number of downturns (Gustafson).
As for the weaknesses of this organization, it should be stressed that the rates of the inventory turnover in this enterprise remain lower than they ought to be in order to reach an adequate level of efficiency. In addition, it should be pointed out that the online retail website which Best Buy employs is also rather ineffectual (Best Buy), which is likely to decrease the number of clients of this organization, for nowadays it is rather a popular trend to order goods via the Internet.
Works Cited
Best Buy. “Best Buy: Expert Service. Unbeatable Price.” Best Buy. Web.
Gustafson, Krystina. “Don’t Give Up on Best Buy Just Yet: Analysts.” CNBC, 2016. Web.
Kenney, Matthew G., and Khanfar, Nile M. “How Best Buy Implements the Five Forces Model to Build Market Share and Customer Loyalty.” International Journal of Arts and Sciences, vol. 4, no. 22, 2011, pp. 159-164.
Trefis Team. “An Analysis of Best Buy’s Turnaround and its Plans for FY 2016.” Forbes, 2015. Web.
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. “Best Buy: Best Buy Co., Inc.” United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2016. Web.