Executive Summary
Foxlore is a newly formed company with a vision to become one of the world’s leading companies in the manufacture of detergents. With a strong vision and mission statements aimed at service improvements and market domination, its strategic direction is focused on customer satisfaction through service and community aid, with a goal of acquiring international recognition and subsequent increase in profits. As a result, the company has made considerations for evaluation in order to achieve the expected results. By evaluating key performance indicators, the company will be well-positioned to ascertain growth.
Strategic market dominance, adopted from the porter model, seeks to take control of the market through price differentiation, which is considered a strong competitive force in the market. Therefore by achieving market dominance, Foxlore will capture as well as retain the market from other detergent manufacturing companies in Europe.
Foxlore company limited
Mission statement: We are committed to making a positive difference in the manufacture of detergent products by producing the best and most environmental friendly detergents that can remove stubborn stains. We believe in close collaboration with our customers with an aim of identifying their needs and surpassing expectations.
Vision statement: To be a market leader and the first choice for detergents in the whole of Europe.
Strategic direction statement: Due to increased competition in the business world, it is imperative to set up viable strategies that may lead to positive growth of an organization. Foxlore Ltd has a well crafted strategic plan aimed at enlarging its market base through market domination. This may arise from studying and understanding customer behavior, and also constant review and adoption of new technologies that may lead to increase in sales on a day-to-day basis.
In order to reach this target, key strategic intentions have been adopted to facilitate Foxlore Ltd in the roll-out of e-commerce platforms, respond pro-actively to market trends, gain international recognition and thus stand a good chance of establishing competitive price differentiation in the market.
Key Strategic Intentions
KSI 1: To dominate market by sales base expansion
Market expansion is the core aim of any company in increasing revenue and sales volume. Through market expansion, product preference is clearly demarcated, resulting in brand recognition.
This can only be achieved through increased sales, which translate to increased revenue for the company. Additionally, a high volume of sales reflect consumer confidence and thus company excellence in the market.
KSI 2: To analyze consumer behavior for exploration of possible market opportunities
Since marketing trends change on a regular basis, demand in improvement and efficiency are indispensable. Developing alliances as a corporate organization proves extremely helpful in understanding consumer behavior vital for discovery of new market opportunities (Chaffey and Wood 2005).
Through this understanding, Foxlore will devote itself towards general understanding of consumer behavior in purchasing detergents over the next four years in order to form a foundation for product development and other possible and available company alliances (Meersman, Dillon & Herrero 2010).
KSI 3: To review and constantly improve technologically
The Company believes in the application of technology in effective communication and rendering of its services. Montgomery & Porter (1991), state that effective technologies should be put to practice to ensure efficient company communications within its employees and feedbacks from its consumers.
Consequently, Foxlore will ensure a continuous strive towards improvement of existing communication technologies and development and acquisition of new and emerging technologies to meet this aim. This is because adoption of technology will greatly increase efficiencies in company operations, reduce associated costs and increase receptiveness to market circumstances.
KSI 4: To achieve quality certifications of excellence
Quality certifications are measures of organizational efforts which makes sure that its products or services are of the highest quality. As a matter of fact, quality certification is paramount for optimal organizational performance bearing in mind that it assists in attracting more customers alongside retaining old clients who have already developed long term loyalty.
Through obtaining and retention of such qualities of measure, client confidence is boosted, thus improving company satisfaction. This automatically leads to consumer loyalty and thus keeps the company in operation. Foxlore will thus aim at providing the best products as regards detergents and soap products to achieve these certifications with the next four years (Agarwal, Johnson, Kiernan, and Leymann n.d.).
KSI 5: To reduce effects of production on the Environment
The onset of the twenty-first century has seen increased awareness in environmental consumption and development of pollution-free products. Natural conservation of the environment means caring for humanity and biodiversity (Jones & Tilley 2003). In this regard, Foxlore will strive to make changes in manufacturing process towards development of zero-level pollution products. Achievement of total environmental non-pollutants should be achieved by the end of six years.
KSI 6: To automate marketing processes and increase profit
Marketing processes consume a lot of resources both in terms of time and finances and thus tend to increase company expenditures. Although higher organizational spending may not necessarily lead to unexpected losses, it is paramount to note that some expenses may prove to be untenable and quite retrogressive as far as profitability is concerned. With increased company expenditures, company profits are bound to undergo reductions. Reducing company expenditures will automatically lead to increase in profits and thus annual revenues.
Foxlore will thus strive towards containing expenditures involved in the marketing processes by automating the marketing processes. This will reduce the number of employee needed, physical presences and other costs such as fuel and stationary. Due to intense competition in the global market today, many businesses have resorted to developing certain competitive actions to aid them gain competitive advantage and maintain profits at the lowest costs possible.
KSI 7: To strengthen brand image and corporate social responsibility through community projects
Community projects are events or activities carried out in a given duration and usually involve occurrences of expenditures. Anon (2011) argues that company aims of carrying out projects include bettering the environment or showing concern for consumers in an area they have diversely affected and commitment towards conservation or improvement. Projects with these intentions thus improve company image and win more clients. Foxlore will thus embark in community and awareness projects to keep the world clean and safe for continual survival (Finlay 2000).
KSI 8: To adopt the use of e-commerce platforms for competitive advantage
Modern market trends demand the application of e-technology in market outreach. Consequently, e-commerce has emerged as the most favorable method of market outreach. E-commerce increases points of sale, increasing consumer and company conveniences and thus reduces the amounts of costs involved in the normal sales processes.
Foxlore is thus committed to adoption of e-commerce technology in achieving this within the next four years. All detergent products and prices will be listed after this period with corresponding expiry dates. This will highly inform customers of product prices, sale points and direct delivery services (Haberberg and Rieple 2009).
KSI 9: To attain price differentiation in the market
Differentiation plays a major role in company identifications. Price differentiation entails identification of unique prices for the company. With price differentiation, Porter (1998) contends that sales are bound to increase and company image gets recognition.
Insistence on attachment of specific non-changing prices is important to differentiation. Foxlore will thus make huge steps in realization of absolute differentiation in market price and hence acquire market domination (Nilsson,F. and Rapp 2005).
Strategic objectives and justification
These are pathways towards achievement of strategic intentions within the stipulated period in our mission statement and are also aimed at gaining the corporate set targets. It is worth to mention that the set goals and objectives of an organization usually act as the driving force towards making the next step in the process of production. These objectives create a platform for evaluation of progress within the same period with specification on duration analysis and other factors. As such, they constitute, company direction statement
To Centralize I.T. controls to corporate levels
Unifying Information Technology to corporate levels improves employee treatment and thus service with an additional progress tracking of the firm. It has been argued that centralization is highly important for companies and will thus help in aiding Foxlore to a better future (Hill and Jones 2007; Murmann 2003).
To create catalogues that would aid online purchase
Modern technological advancements have made it possible for wonderful and less costly shopping experiences for companies. Creation of online catalogues will greatly aid sales and help in managing the brand of the company over an acquired experience (Chang and Lee 1995).
To carry out regular auditing for evaluation purposes
In order to attain national and international recognitions, Foxlore Ltd must ensure that quality is being delivered throughout the entire process of production. It is against this scope that regular audits are very important in evaluation of progress towards attaining quality certifications (Houldsworth, Group and Jirasinghe 2006).
To control regional markets through express distribution
Direct distribution ensures that the number of intermediates in the distribution process is eliminated, reducing the total value of the price of a product at retail levels. The lesser the number of distributors involved, the lesser the product value is hence gaining price differentiation (Gifford 2008).
To implement the Just In Time (JIT) function
In manufacturing firms, there in need for time management as regards production and demand times. This being a multi-departmental activity will involve every aspect of the distribution chain. Accordingly, transport, handling and inventory will automatically get affected by the demands of these functions and thus facilitate in the process of reducing emergency costs. In this regard, there is time flexibilities and efficiency in production (Damanpour and Damanpour 2001).
To ensure timely deliveries
Joyce and Woods (2001) argue that timely deliveries are imperative in meeting of market demands. Failure for timely deliveries will create anxieties and consequently bad company image. A resulting consumer shift is inevitable in the process. Timely deliveries are thus highly significant in acquisition of stability and gaining of consumer confidence.
To acquire other small and middle scale industries for expanded production
Company expansion is imperative in market capturing. Through acquisition other small and middle scale industries, product base becomes wider and thus provides great room for expansive endeavors. Such collaborations are extremely important in company expansion and integration efforts (O’Connell 2003).
The only way to track company progress is through evaluation of key performance indicators. They comprise of set standards put in place by managers and stakeholders to give verdict on company performance in the short and long term durations (Hit, Ireland and Hoskisson 2010).
With this perception, goals are created which make the values of the company stronger, thereby making the company stand a better chance in realization of competitive advantage. This is possible through identification of key performance indicators below (Pfeffer 1996).
KPI 1: To increase the number of new products created by 35%
It is of great value to create awareness of new products for consumer familiarization and increase sales by 35%. Consumer awareness determines product sale at the supermarket. Such increase becomes influential in market penetration hence successful market dominance.
KPI 2: to increase customer satisfaction index rating by 50%
Customer index is a quality of measure of customer satisfaction by the quality of company products or services by 50%. In order to achieve this, feedbacks and interviews will play a crucial role, which in turn will change internal efficiency.
KPI 3: To allocate research and Development Costs
Research plays a crucial role in information gathering. Information is also very important in decision making. Thus research and development need inclusion into the budgetary expenditures. Thus, they can be expressed as a fraction of the total costs incurred in the manufacturing process of the detergents so as to reflect in the final budget as influential and thus 10% of revenue will be allocated to research (Dobson, Starkey and Richards 2004).
KPI 4: To increase brand awareness rating by 30%
Brand awareness is essential in reaching the markets and increase sales by approximately 30%. Successful growths have also be directly associated with brand awareness and is measured through rating from people who know the company at a time of interview.
KPI 5: To increase Optimization index by 80%
This defines the duration from envisioning of a project to its completion date. Optimization of such timing is crucial in determination of quality project planning thus helping the company to become better in project planning and thus should lead to an index of almost 1.0.
KPI 6: To increase customer loyalty index by 55%
Customer loyalty is crucial in determination of company consistence in performance. A loyal customer index will thus make it known to the company on how customers are willing to buy from the company. This can be measured from interviews, surveys and positive feedbacks and should reflect a 55% increased.
KPI 7: Online sales record per total volume rating
An account of online customers expressed as a fraction of the total volume sold, estimated to be at 35%, and is highly important in determination of online and technological influence in the business. Secondly, the online system should also undergo efficiency tests to reflect on how user-friends it is for consumer utilization.
KPI 8: Audit rating
Repeated findings from audit reports and self-assessments are important in determination of favorable conditions for growth. Low repetitions in findings should indicate corrective steps in business management.KPI 9: Number of Production reject.
Productions rejections are important when finding out how accurate the company is in production. Lower rejections indicate lesser human and machine errors during the production period.
KPI 10: Sales campaign rating conducted yearly
This indicator points out how much the company is using in annual sales campaigns in attempts of trying to woo them to the rate of those who get automatic conversions from loyal company clients. This rate determines the best marketing strategy to employ in increasing customer clientele and consequently, a 0.65 rate should be reflected.
KPI 11: To create a 25% annual customer retention rate
Customer retention determines company stability and continued survival. A quarter fraction of retention of customers indicates a strong customer background for increased sales. This automatically leads to creation of customer loyalty hence expansion efficiency.
KPI 12: Manufacturing cost index
Unveiling of new products leads to development of new costs and thus calls for different index of fund usage. This indicator seeks to optimize amount over a long period of time and in this case, the four years indicated in the company mission statement.
Critical Evaluation of the Firm
Making changes in global business processes
Using the famous analogy, architectural designs have been thought to have developed in three main steps, namely strategic planning, architecture and infrastructure. In the same way, without having a vision, there would be no implementation of the set global business processes. It is highly important that strategic objectives be developed (Dess, Lumpkin and Dess 2009). These objectives include putting into consideration capabilities of existing systems as these capabilities are important in determining the developmental changes required to achieve a technologically competitive organization.
In addition, evaluating current business strategies and objectives alongside existing business settings is also another important step. Understanding the business environment is important in determination of strategic objectives. This will indeed make it possible for Foxlore to develop strategic objectives ready for development of highly strategic business decisions to put us ahead of the business setting.
Reforming IT to achieve competitive advantage
Among the most important and challenging situations of a chief information officer is to develop and culminate reforms on existing IT infrastructure within an organization with a subsequent result of absolute competitive advantage. With serious consideration of the existing infrastructure, development of a roadmap is possible with consistencies in IT architectural infrastructure and organizational values. IT infrastructures include the Client/Server, rarely used mainframe and SOA (Bernardez 2009. With market expansion intentions, Foxlore will have to consider installation of a WAN network for remote client reach.
Since WAN networks in culminate use of protocols, a centralized control center is imperative with decentralization of duties rosters and marketing. In this regard, therefore, SAP architecture is highly recommended with an Ethernet connection of 10Base (Sadler & Craig 2003).
Managing projects in a world environment in incorporation of competition across borders
Foxlore Ltd has to complete four projects within the next two years. However, the global environment is highly competitive. Managing projects in such environments is critically challenging. Since projects are made of numerous activities with costs incurred and time consumed, there is need for application of strategic knowledge to accomplish several activities (Langfield-Smith, Smith and Stringer 2008).
This has to however consider the scope of intended projects since projects are intended at impacting communities, time limitations which involve the two year period defined by Foxlore Ltd and budgetary allocations with regard to high quality in order to efficiently manage the projects.
According to Foxlore project policy, project management is undertaken by a totally independent team with consideration of various aspects which include the above dimensions and complexity of the project. Smith and Flanagan (2006) state that efficiency in control demands for a Project Management Office that uses IT project management utilities. This way, there would be consistency with concurrent projects and progress indications (Mitchell and Coles 2003).
Competition across borders: Course to Competitive Advantage: Competitive advantage has been defined as a line of differential factor in any organization which makes it possible for the firm to serve its clients better than other competing firms.
This trait is thought to differentiate it if the firm is only able to practice it ahead of or practice it with more efficiency than its competitors. This, however, is not an automatic privilege. Consideration of available opportunities and benefits at hand is crucial in determination of strategic competitive advantage (Alkhafaji 2003).
At Foxlore, we believe in the strength of detergents at the same cost. In order to keep the detergent market sustained to our advantage, a new formula for making these detergents is essential. As proposed from the founder of the model of competitive advantage founded by Porter in the early nineties, the five forces in the market place greatly determine how to put in place a competitive advantage strategy (Byers 2007).
Competitive advantage model as proposed by Porter
Porter, in his model of competitive forces, argues that organizational performances are dictated by strengths of suppliers and buyers, substitutes as well as potentially upcoming competitors with a deep consideration of competition with recognized companies (Thompson and Thompson 2010). As shown in the figure above, this model can be broken down to the five forces.
In line with differentiation levels from cost focus to leadership in competitive cost advantage, to focusing in differentiation of Foxlore products and achievement of total differentiation, there is need for consideration of the five forces found in a competitive environment (Saloner, Shepard and Podolny 2006).
To begin with, it is imperative to consider client bargaining power. Product design should highly consider consumer purchase capabilities. With this understanding, Foxlore has put in place customer help centers to understand consumer demands and capabilities. Secondly, supplier bargaining power is also considered with Foxlore extending its understanding of supplier to subsequent installment purchases in order to assist in the process of achieving the greatest annual sales.
Thirdly, consideration of rivalry within the business environment is important, whereby constant and direct competition may affect consumer confidence. Acquisition of other small and medium businesses in the detergent manufacturing industry would prove a step a head of competitor companies for Foxlore (Jackson, Hitt and DeNisi 2003).
Lastly, it is important to observe threats acquired from substitute products in the market of detergents. With emergency of new herbal products in these industries, there has been a recent consumer shift into adoption of these new products. In this regard, it is crucial that Foxlore undertake improvements and adoption of the new technology to be in tandem with the detergent and detergent manufacturing industry (Chaffey and Wood, 2005).
In this regard, it is of great essence that Foxlore draft strategies for the implementation of effective competitive advantage. As shown in the above KPIs for Foxlore, it evident that strategy can only be arrived at after consideration of the strategic objectives. Strategic merging of the company with small and medium companies is crucial.
Secondly, brand management is essential in image determination and thus Foxlore is committed to maintaining a high-quality brand to enhance its image. Brand management will automatically lead customer retention and thus lead to a competitive advantage depicted in annual revenues (Wang, Lin and Chu 2011).
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is evident that with the mission and vision statement, aided by company direction statement, Foxlore Ltd is bound to overtake other companies in the manufacturing of detergents in the whole of Europe. Strong mission statement with strategic company direction derived from KSIs,
Foxlore is well-positioned to take control of market and thus achieve its vision. With an understanding of the company and competition across borders, an evaluation of Foxlore reveals imminent success as evident from key performance indicators. With an upper hand in competitive advantages as evident from porter’s model, it is also apparent that Foxlore Ltd has enough laid out strategies for success.
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