POLICEPREP - DVD Case Solution

The Harvard Business Review published a case study that primarily focuses on POLICEPREP - DVD. The following case solution has been designed to give the reader an overview about the business world along with a clear understanding of its growth dynamics. Recently, POLICEPREP - DVD has been subjected to strategic as well as managerial problems that require immediate attention so that they can be resolved to allow future growth, expansion, and competitive edge within the marketplace. This case study solution is being written to provide a strategic solution to POLICEPREP - DVD using various appropriate tools and frameworks. Harvard Business Review’s case studies involve a central problem that is faced by a particular company. The problem identified involves strategic and managerial implications for the company. Therefore, it is important for readers to critically identify the problem POLICEPREP - DVD faces. Moreover, it is also essential to highlight the key stakeholders that are impacted and influenced by the problem identified.

External Environmental Analysis

The external environment holds significant importance for POLICEPREP - DVD to ensure that the company is able to respond to all the changes in the macro-environment. This is because POLICEPREP - DVD cannot control the factors and thus can directly influence the company's operations (Indris & Primiana, 2015). The external environment of POLICEPREP - DVD will be assessed using PESTLE Analysis.

Political

• A stable political environment provides a favorable market growth trend for POLICEPREP - DVD.

• It is important for POLICEPREP - DVD to analyze the pressure groups, and social environment activists. The company can make close collaborations with these groups to achieve company goals (Wang, Wang, & Shi, 2022).

• High restrictions on trade and high levels of taxes can contribute to the complex business environment for POLICEPREP - DVD by impacting imports and exports.

Economic

• POLICEPREP - DVD can benefit from wide-range opportunities in business growth by operating in developing economies (Munro, 2017).

• High GDP can determine the long-term growth strategies of POLICEPREP - DVD, signaling the ability of consumers to spend on more products.

• Higher rates of interests can provide POLICEPREP - DVD with more investment opportunities.

• The flexibility in the labor market allows POLICEPREP - DVD to take advantage of higher workforce productivity.

Social

• The selection of appropriate demographic segments has allowed POLICEPREP - DVD to select the right segments of the market that have high growth potential.

• The research on gender roles has helped POLICEPREP - DVD to develop and align communication as well as marketing strategies accordingly.

• POLICEPREP - DVD has been successful in understanding the norms and cultures of different countries by developing local teams and partnerships (Hueske, Endrikat, & Guenther, 2015).

Technological

• The adoption of innovative marketing techniques that involves communication technologies has allowed POLICEPREP - DVD to collaborate successfully with consumers.

• The company has stayed ahead in the market, and can significantly increase its market share by placing its major focus on emerging technologies (Akpoviroro & Owotutu, 2018).

• POLICEPREP - DVD should maximize its profits by investing in disruptive technologies.

Environmental

• It is crucial for POLICEPREP - DVD to adopt effective waste management practices to reduce environmental pollution (J. K, W. J, & D., 2016).

• POLICEPREP - DVD should adopt eco-friendly products to establish better relationships with the stakeholders.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can take advantage of subsidies offered in renewable technologies to achieve the long-term goal of sustainability.

Legal

• POLICEPREP - DVD should follow proper laws concerning employee health and safety, and anti-discrimination laws to effectively develop HRM.

• Consumer protection laws are also important for POLICEPREP - DVD as it involves the consumer protection from fraudulent marketing (S. Samusenko, S. Plaskova, & A. Prodanova, 2020).

• POLICEPREP - DVD can gain a competitive advantage, and can position itself strongly in the market by protecting intellectual property laws.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

Threat of New Entrants

• It is difficult to achieve economies of scale in POLICEPREP - DVD’s industry, making it a weaker force for new entrants.

• There are high capital requirements in the industry. This makes it difficult for new businesses to set up their companies, and compete against POLICEPREP - DVD.

• The industry has a strong product differentiation, and heavy investment is needed for customer acquisition. Thus, POLICEPREP - DVD can focus on innovation to differentiate itself from its competitors (H. Th. Bruijl, 2018).

• There are strict legal requirements to join the industry in which POLICEPREP - DVD operates, making it difficult for new entrants to enter the market.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

• The bargaining power of suppliers in the industry is weak.

• POLICEPREP - DVD operates in an industry with a higher number of suppliers. This means that suppliers do not have much control over their prices.

• Standardized products that have low switching costs are provided by suppliers allowing buyers like POLICEPREP - DVD to easily switch their suppliers (Fabbri & F.Klapper, 2016).

• Raw materials can be purchased at lower prices by POLICEPREP - DVD. The company can also switch suppliers for more reasonable pricing.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can benefit from a variety of suppliers as it can have multiple suppliers for its various geographical areas (Cho, Ke, & Han, 2019).

Bargaining Power of Buyers

• The bargaining power of buyers in the POLICEPREP - DVD industry is weak.

• There is a high product differentiation in the industry, making it difficult for buyers to switch to alternative firms.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can come with differentiated and innovative products to attract more buyers of the industry (Zhao, Zuo, & Wu, 2016).

• Buyers of this industry has low incomes. This means they prefer to purchase items at lower prices, making them more price sensitive. Organizations like POLICEPREP - DVD can offer lower prices to attract customers.

Threat of Substitute Products or Services

• There are few substitute products available in the industry in which POLICEPREP - DVD operates.

• Expensive substitutes are available in the industry of POLICEPREP - DVD, making it difficult for buyers to switch to those substitutes (Aithal, 2016).

Rivalry Among Existing Firms

• The rivalry among existing firms is moderate to weak.

• There are few competitors in the industry in which POLICEPREP - DVD operates.

• A large market share is enjoyed by fewer firms in the industry. This means that more competitive actions will be made to become leaders in the market (Seema, 2016).

• The industry in which POLICEPREP - DVD operates has highly differentiated products, making it difficult for companies to win each other customers.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can focus on making more differentiated products to gain a strong competitive edge in the market (Zhao, Zuo, & Wu, 2016).

Internal Environmental Analysis

POLICEPREP - DVD can use internal environmental analysis to identify and evaluate the competitive positioning of a company in the business environment. This involves conducting a SWOT Analysis that can help POLICEPREP - DVD to identify the company’s internal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Halmaghi, Iancue, & Băcilă, 2017).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• POLICEPREP - DVD has a strong distribution network that has allowed it to make its products available to large customers within the given timeframe.

• A strong presence on social media platforms has allowed POLICEPREP - DVD to have a high level of customer engagement (Rizaldi, 2015).

• POLICEPREP - DVD has been successful in building a large product portfolio, so unique and distinctive products can be offered to consumers.

• POLICEPREP - DVD has a strong brand image in the market.

• A low-cost structure of POLICEPREP - DVD has allowed it to manufacture products at lower costs, so they become affordable for consumers to purchase.

• The financial position of POLICEPREP - DVD is strong as the company has generated higher profits over the past years (Phadermrod, M.Crowder, & B.Wills, 2019).

• POLICEPREP - DVD has invested in the training and development of its employees to keep them motivates, leading to higher efficiency and productivity.

Weaknesses

• The expenditure of POLICEPREP - DVD on its research and development is comparatively less to other competitors of the market.

• POLICEPREP - DVD uses a centralized decision-making process that takes time and reduces operational efficiency (Ahmadi, Dileepan, & K. Wheatley, 2016).

• There are high rental costs because POLICEPREP - DVD operates on more of the rental properties rather than purchasing them.

• There is no workforce diversification in POLICEPREP - DVD. This makes it difficult for the employees to adjust with the different workers who belong to different backgrounds.

Opportunities

• Since the online shopping has increased significantly, POLICEPREP - DVD can take it as an opportunity to expand its online presence.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can make use of social media platforms to market its products, with more customers interactions.

• Due to more technological developments, POLICEPREP - DVD can make its operations more automated so that overall company costs can be reduced (Ahmadi, Dileepan, & K. Wheatley, 2016).

• Globalization provides an opportunity to POLICEPREP - DVD to expand its operations in multiple countries.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can enter in a niche market and sell distinctive products to gain a competitive advantage.

• The increase in the demand of environmentally friendly goods, POLICEPREP - DVD, can place its major focus on making such products (E.Quezada, A.Reinao, & I.Palominos, 2019).

Threats

• In recent times, there has been an increase in the bargaining power of suppliers, making it difficult for POLICEPREP - DVD to buy raw materials at lower costs.

• Numerous players are entering the industry, posing a major threat to POLICEPREP - DVD.

• There has been constant pressure on POLICEPREP - DVD to conduct frequent research to understand the changing customer tastes and preferences (Kolbina, 2015).

• Technological advancements require workforce training. This adds to the costs of POLICEPREP - DVD.

VRIO Analysis

POLICEPREP - DVD uses VRIO Analysis to assess and evaluate the company resources to determine the competitiveness, and strategic advantage.

Valuable

• POLICEPREP - DVD has a strong brand image and engages in corporate social responsibility.

• POLICEPREP - DVD has a high brand recognition because of the quality of products it offers to its customers (Ariyani & Daryanto, 2018).

• The distribution system of POLICEPREP - DVD is valued all round the world. The company has been able to successfully establish strong relationships with its suppliers.

• POLICEPREP - DVD focuses on continuous innovation in its business. The company has expanded this innovation in its multiple functional areas.

• There are potential growth opportunities in the market, and POLICEPREP - DVD has been able to penetrate the market through its ability to raise large funds.

Rare

• POLICEPREP - DVD operates globally. This global presence has allowed the company to increase its customer base (Miethlich & G. Oldenburg, 2019).

• POLICEPREP - DVD has an organizational culture that promotes more teamwork, innovation, and creativity among its employees, that leads to a competitive advantage.

• Since POLICEPREP - DVD has a global presence, it allows the company to easily adapt to different cultures, norms and values.

• The risk-taking ability of POLICEPREP - DVD is strong. This provides more opportunities to the company to penetrate different markets.

Inimitable

• The inimitable resource for POLICEPREP - DVD is its high-quality products. These products have allowed consumers to make repeat purchases.

• POLICEPREP - DVD operates through multiple locations of stores in different companies, allowing easy access to products.

• Strong marketing communications have been used by POLICEPREP - DVD to attract more customers.

• POLICEPREP - DVD has been using integrated technology that has allowed it to offer competitive pricing to its customers (Ariwibowo, Saputro, & Haryanto, 2021).

• POLICEPREP - DVD maintains an excellent customer service that has enabled it to have a high brand engagement.

Organization

• Strong financial position has allowed POLICEPREP - DVD to explore more product development opportunities.

• POLICEPREP - DVD is successfully maintaining the efficiency and effectiveness of its business operations with the help of more integrated and advanced technology.

• Employees are given both in-house and off-the-job training opportunities by POLICEPREP - DVD that allow more skills development (Adnan, Abdulhamid, & Sohail, 2018).

• The strong value chain and distribution network has enabled POLICEPREP - DVD to increase its revenue through the sale of its products.

Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix is needed by POLICEPREP - DVD to formulate effective strategies to achieve the company objectives.

Product

• POLICEPREP - DVD has five product categories. Each of these categories has a product line that involves more variety of products (Išoraitė, 2016).

• Highly differentiated products are offered by POLICEPREP - DVD to its customers. These distinctive products are not easily available at competitors.

• The products of POLICEPREP - DVD are of higher quality, and thus, customers pay more prices for these products.

• POLICEPREP - DVD designs products with traditional designs giving customers more product variety.

• POLICEPREP - DVD offers multiple sizes for its every product to make it easy for its customers to select the right product.

• Warranty and same-day delivery option if also provided by POLICEPREP - DVD to its customers.

Price

• POLICEPREP - DVD follows a competitive pricing strategy.

• To attract more customers, bundle pricing has also been used by the company.

• Little higher prices are charged for products that are sold online because of the delivery costs (Thabit & Raewf, 2018).

• Optional product pricing strategy is also adopted by POLICEPREP - DVD for some of its products, such as a base product is offered for a certain price, and there are separate prices for its accessories.

• Regular promotional prices are also offered by POLICEPREP - DVD to its customers.

Place

• POLICEPREP - DVD uses two channels for its product distribution. This includes online selling and through own stores.

• There are more than multiple stores owned by POLICEPREP - DVD globally. This ensures easy product availability to customers (Pogorelova, Yakhneeva, & Agafonova, 2016).

• POLICEPREP - DVD has partnered with delivery service companies to distribute its products effectively to consumers.

• POLICEPREP - DVD has also adopted an omni-channel distribution system.

Promotion

• POLICEPREP - DVD uses a traditional promotional strategy that involves TV advertisements (Fan, Y.K.Lau, & Zhao, 2015).

• Social media advertisements are also adopted by POLICEPREP - DVD to increase brand awareness.

• POLICEPREP - DVD takes part in various events and exhibitions as a way of promoting its products.

• Large sales force is used to provide the customers with a more personal experience.

• POLICEPREP - DVD also makes use of influencer marketing to increase the demand for its products.

• Regular content and deals are posted on the social media pages of POLICEPREP - DVD to attract and retain customers.

Value Chain Analysis

POLICEPREP - DVD can use Value Chain Analysis to identify and assess inter-relationships as well as interdependencies.

Primary Activities

• POLICEPREP - DVD’s primary activities involves the production and selling of products to the final consumers (Mintz, J.Gilbride, & Lenk, 2021).

• POLICEPREP - DVD has a strong relationship with the suppliers. This ensures that the product is received, stored, and distributed in a timely manner.

• Operational activities of POLICEPREP - DVD are effectively aligned.

• For inbound logistics, after the arrival of raw material, the company processes it to manufacture the final product (Hasan, Nekmahmud, & Yajuan, 2019).

• In terms of outbound logistics, POLICEPREP - DVD has been able to set up optimal costs as well as efficient delivery processes to deliver the product on time.

• POLICEPREP - DVD invests in its sales and marketing activities to build relationships with customers.

• Marketing funnel approach is used by POLICEPREP - DVD to effectively devise and build sales and marketing activities.

• POLICEPREP - DVD offers both pre-sale and post-sales services to its customers.

Secondary Activities

• POLICEPREP - DVD has an effective infrastructure that has allowed the company to successfully optimize its value chain.

• The competitive pressure in terms of employee skill development, motivation, and commitment is reduced as POLICEPREP - DVD has developed a strong HRM (Linkov, Carluccio, Pritchard, & Bhreasail, 2020).

• POLICEPREP - DVD uses a cost minimization approach to reduce its costs by analyzing the costs associated with training and hiring the employees.

• POLICEPREP - DVD has been using integrated technology in its value chain activities. This includes technological customer support, research and data analytics concerning product design, and automated software.

• The procurement activities of POLICEPREP - DVD are effectively optimized with its inbound, outbound, and operational activities (Maheswari, Yudoko, & Adhiutama, 2019).

Market Penetration Strategies

• POLICEPREP - DVD can increase the capacity of its production so it can reach more of the customers in its existing market.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can focus on controlling the overhead costs so that it can offer competitive pricing that can attract customers of the market (Dawes, 2018).

• Investments can be made by POLICEPREP - DVD in marketing and sales activities to increase the chances of successful market penetration.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can design and develop a content that increases customer engagement within a particular marketplace.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can assess and identify more enhanced distribution networks (Radpour, Mondal, & Kumar, 2017).

• Improved distribution systems and supply chains can improve the product accessibility for the customers, making it easier for POLICEPREP - DVD to penetrate the market.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can adopt price cuts in its products to compete in the market. This will give a company a competitive edge over its competitors.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can plan strategies where it can focus on acquiring the leading players of the market. Such acquisitions will give the company an opportunity to reach more customer segments.

• Strategic partnerships and joint ventures agreements can be signed by POLICEPREP - DVD to mitigate the risk factors, and to gain customer groups of the market.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can come up with new and innovative features in its already existing product for the market (Daouda, Barth, & T. M. Ingenbleek, 2019).

Market Development Strategies

• It is important for POLICEPREP - DVD to invest in the research and development department so potential markets can be identified (Hilman, Bohari, & Abdullah, 2018).

• Regional expansion strategy can be used by POLICEPREP - DVD for growth purposes. This will also take into consideration the cultural differences.

• POLICEPREP - DVD should also consider to expand its business operations in the international market. This will allow access to a larger customer base.

• New customer groups and segments should be explored by POLICEPREP - DVD.

• POLICEPREP - DVD should also invest in brand-building activities as it will give an opportunity to reach more potential customers (C. Koks & M. Kilika, 2016).

• POLICEPREP - DVD should consider the market education in terms of its product. The company can significantly increase its sales by giving product awareness to new segments.

Product Development Strategies

• POLICEPREP - DVD can come up with new improvements and modifications in the existing products to attract the market.

• POLICEPREP - DVD should undergo the NPD process, so the company is able to assess and identify new points for its customers.

• Regular investments in the research and development will help POLICEPREP - DVD to develop something new and innovative that can give a competitive advantage (Kalogiannidis & Mavratzas, 2020).

• POLICEPREP - DVD can develop new products by getting into more strategic partnerships.

Diversification Strategies

• POLICEPREP - DVD can adopt vertical diversification to develop business. This can be done by adding more products to the existing portfolio (Kalogiannidis & Mavratzas, 2020).

• Horizontal integration can also be adopted by POLICEPREP - DVD, where the company can enter into a completely new product development phase that does not exist in the current product line.

• POLICEPREP - DVD can also consider to conglomerate by starting a different business.

Conclusion

Based on all the models and frameworks discussed above, it is concluded that POLICEPREP - DVD should focus on widening the existing product portfolio. Moreover, the psychological pricing strategy can be adopted. POLICEPREP - DVD should also maintain close relationships with its suppliers to benefit from lower prices. Similarly, POLICEPREP - DVD should develop more integrated outbound logistics for its perishable items. It is also important to continue producing quality and innovative products, so POLICEPREP - DVD is less affected by the new emerging competition in the industry.

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