Executive Summary
The purpose of the report is to look at how Kudler Fine Foods Company can incorporate strategic thinking into its strategic plan so that it can be current and up to date. This will involve looking at the current organization’s mission, vision and goals that are used to design the company’s strategy and whether these statements have helped Kudler Foods to achieve its strategic objectives.
This will involve looking at the various strategies that have been designed for the organization to meet its mission and vision and deciding the best strategy to be used to make Kudler more competitive in the Food provider industry. After the best strategy has been identified, an implementation plan will be drawn up to operationalize the strategy to make Kudler Foods more competitive.
Company Background
Kudler Fine Foods Company was founded in 1998 with the opening of the first Kudler Fine Foods store known as the La Jolla. The name Kudler was derived from the proprietor’s name, Kathy Kudler. Kathy opened up another store in 2008 known as the Encinitas that would provide baked goods to the target customers.
Another store that was opened recently was the Del Mar. The Organization’s goal is to provide good customer service in its shops by creating a one stop convenience store that meets all the customers’ needs (Kudler Fine Foods Portal, 2009).
Kathy hopes to create products and services that will be able to differentiate her company from that of her competitors. The mission of Kudler Company is to continue expanding its stores in various locations and also expand the services it offers to its customers. The vision Kathy has for her company is to be one stop convenience shop for all customer needs related to food (Kudler Fine Foods Portal, 2009).
Environmental Scan
The strategic competitiveness of a business can only be achieved when the organizational structure of a business such as Kudler Foods is integrated and consistent with its formulated strategy (Pearson & Robinson, 2009). Kathy Kudler’s company is expanding and growing to meet the proprietors need for an all round gourmet shop in various locations.
This need has arose from an environmental scan that indicated there was a growing demand from consumers to have convenience stores that stock all food supplies. Many customers also wanted cooked food to also be part of the merchandise sold in the stores as well as the uncooked or raw food (KFFP, 2009).
There was also a need for stocking various wine supplies from around the world giving the consumers a shopping variety that is affordable and pocket friendly. The introduction of wine and cheese tasting in the three stores has enabled the company to strengthen itself among its competitors.
There are also wine stewards who offer guidance to the customers by helping them to choose the best wines or spirits to meet various occasions. The store also offers wine appreciation classes that enable customers to learn more about the wines stocked by Kudler (KFFP, 2009)
Review of the Individual Strategic Alternatives
One of the strategies that the company is considering to incorporate into its strategic plan is to offer cooking classes for the customers interested in cooking who are near any of the Kudler convenience stores. The cooking classes will ensure that the company is able to solidify its relationship with its current customers while at the same time establishing relationships with new clients.
The fees paid for the cooking classes are also seen to be an additional income earner for the business. Implementation of these classes might see the company having to remodel its stores to accommodate groups of people or purchasing additional space elsewhere. This will require additional funding for this venture as well as purchasing cooking equipment to be used by the students (Kudler Fine Foods Portal, 2009).
The other strategic alternative being considered by Kathy is to offer speed based differentiation that will enable the company to offer goods and services that are different from those being offered by Kudler’s competitors.
The speed based strategy will be for gourmet catering and food delivery services that will ensure the company is able to charge its buyers more thereby enhancing its position in the market. By focusing on offering high end catering services to weddings and business functions will ensure that Kudler can be able to earn an extra income thereby enhancing its infrastructure.
An environmental scan has shown that there is a positive response for gourmet food. Pearce and Robinson (2009) note that rapid response to customer requests in the market will increase the company’s differentiation thereby increasing its market responsiveness to customer needs.
They also highlight the fact that company’s that practice speed based differentiation are able to be competitive in the market. Another alternative that was being considered was the use of on line services to market the company’s goods and services as well as allow customers to purchase goods online.
The proprietor noted that this on line service would mostly benefit those customers that were not within a driving distance of a Kudler store. One of the KFF goals is to create a website that will enhance the company’s e-commerce activities. Creating a website would enable the company achieve this goal.
To achieve customer service, Kathy notes that the introduction of an information system will improve customer service operations for the store. The other alternative was to conduct training for the company’s employees in the areas of gourmet food, wine tasting and selection as well as cheese preparation and packaging.
The training is meant to last for 30 days after which employees are given certificates to mark that they have completed the training successfully. The additional skills and knowledge will put Kudler employees at a higher level while at the same time enabling them to offer exceptional services to customers.
The proprietor has however noted that this activity will require a lot of money especially for the gourmet and culinary training sessions (KFFP, 2009).
The last alternative that was under consideration was to offer weekly delivery services to Kudler customers for a flat membership fee. This alternative would allow Kudler customers to fill out a delivery form for different items that they need in a week. The customer will then pay a flat membership fee per month for the delivery services.
The customers can either pick up their requests every Friday from the Kudler stores or they can request for delivery services up to their doorsteps. The weekly deliveries are meant to reduce the time constraints most customers experience when deciding on what to shop for as well as the amount of time spent on shopping (KFFP, 2009).
Kudler Fine Foods Strategic Recommendation
The strategic alternatives outlined for the business strategic plan are meant to gear the company towards achieving economic and market growth. The one alternative that would enable Kudler to generate additional income without having to incur any expensive additional costs was the weekly deliveries strategic alternative.
The only expenditures the company would have to incur to accomplish this venture would be to purchase a delivery van and pay for overtime hours or hire one additional employee to perform the delivery activities.
Incorporating this strategy would ensure that the company is able to increase its income or revenues because delivery services are highly beneficial to companies involved in the sale of food commodities. The weekly delivery services would also ensure the high end consumers do not face any time constraints when shopping for food items.
Implementation plan
To implement the chosen strategic alternative, the work break down structure (WBS) and the Gantt chart will be used. These two methods are important in strategic project planning as they provide the detailed list of the activities to be performed by the project manager.
The WBS is a hierarchical list that defines the major elements of the project plan while the Gantt chart represents the timing of tasks that are required to finish a project (Russell, 2010). The WBS and Gantt chart for the weekly delivery strategy is represented by the diagrams below:
WBS and Gantt chart
The total amount of money that will be needed to conduct the above activities will be $2000 dollars of the Kudler Foods budget. This amount will cover the purchase of the van, training tools and materials for the employees training program as well as for conducting the interviews and recruitment exercises. The success factors will be the number of customers who register for the delivery services by the end of the first month.
Risk Management Plan
The main purpose of a risk management plan is to define the strategy to be used in identifying and managing risks that arise during project activities. The plan identifies the risks which can be defined at the current project stage, after which the risks are evaluated and the actions are outlines. The risk management plan that will be used by the project manager and risk officer of Kudler Company is outlined below
References
Kudler Fine Foods Portal (KFFP) (2009). Strategic Plan. Course material. Pg 15.
Pearce, J.A. & Robinson, R.B. (2009). Strategic management: formulation, implementation, and control. 11th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill.
Russell, L. (2010). Gantt charts, PERT charts: what use are they? Retrieved from: https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/gantt-charts-pert-charts-what-use-are-they.php