Bob Jacobs Case Solution

The Harvard Business Review published a case study that primarily focuses on Bob Jacobs. 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, Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to ensure that the company is able to respond to all the changes in the macro-environment. This is because Bob Jacobs cannot control the factors and thus can directly influence the company's operations (Indris & Primiana, 2015). The external environment of Bob Jacobs will be assessed using PESTLE Analysis.

Political

• A stable political environment provides a favorable market growth trend for Bob Jacobs.

• It is important for Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs by impacting imports and exports.

Economic

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs, signaling the ability of consumers to spend on more products.

• Higher rates of interests can provide Bob Jacobs with more investment opportunities.

• The flexibility in the labor market allows Bob Jacobs to take advantage of higher workforce productivity.

Social

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

• The research on gender roles has helped Bob Jacobs to develop and align communication as well as marketing strategies accordingly.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs 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).

• Bob Jacobs should maximize its profits by investing in disruptive technologies.

Environmental

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

• Bob Jacobs should adopt eco-friendly products to establish better relationships with the stakeholders.

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

Legal

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

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

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs’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 Bob Jacobs.

• The industry has a strong product differentiation, and heavy investment is needed for customer acquisition. Thus, Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs 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.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to easily switch their suppliers (Fabbri & F.Klapper, 2016).

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

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs industry is weak.

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

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs can offer lower prices to attract customers.

Threat of Substitute Products or Services

• There are few substitute products available in the industry in which Bob Jacobs operates.

• Expensive substitutes are available in the industry of Bob Jacobs, 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 Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs operates has highly differentiated products, making it difficult for companies to win each other customers.

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

Internal Environmental Analysis

Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to identify the company’s internal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Halmaghi, Iancue, & Băcilă, 2017).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to have a high level of customer engagement (Rizaldi, 2015).

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

• Bob Jacobs has a strong brand image in the market.

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

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

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

Weaknesses

• The expenditure of Bob Jacobs on its research and development is comparatively less to other competitors of the market.

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

• There are high rental costs because Bob Jacobs operates on more of the rental properties rather than purchasing them.

• There is no workforce diversification in Bob Jacobs. 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, Bob Jacobs can take it as an opportunity to expand its online presence.

• Bob Jacobs can make use of social media platforms to market its products, with more customers interactions.

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

• Globalization provides an opportunity to Bob Jacobs to expand its operations in multiple countries.

• Bob Jacobs can enter in a niche market and sell distinctive products to gain a competitive advantage.

• The increase in the demand of environmentally friendly goods, Bob Jacobs, 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 Bob Jacobs to buy raw materials at lower costs.

• Numerous players are entering the industry, posing a major threat to Bob Jacobs.

• There has been constant pressure on Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs.

VRIO Analysis

Bob Jacobs uses VRIO Analysis to assess and evaluate the company resources to determine the competitiveness, and strategic advantage.

Valuable

• Bob Jacobs has a strong brand image and engages in corporate social responsibility.

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

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

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs has been able to penetrate the market through its ability to raise large funds.

Rare

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

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

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

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

Inimitable

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

• Bob Jacobs operates through multiple locations of stores in different companies, allowing easy access to products.

• Strong marketing communications have been used by Bob Jacobs to attract more customers.

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

• Bob Jacobs maintains an excellent customer service that has enabled it to have a high brand engagement.

Organization

• Strong financial position has allowed Bob Jacobs to explore more product development opportunities.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs that allow more skills development (Adnan, Abdulhamid, & Sohail, 2018).

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

Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix is needed by Bob Jacobs to formulate effective strategies to achieve the company objectives.

Product

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to its customers. These distinctive products are not easily available at competitors.

• The products of Bob Jacobs are of higher quality, and thus, customers pay more prices for these products.

• Bob Jacobs designs products with traditional designs giving customers more product variety.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to its customers.

Price

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to its customers.

Place

• Bob Jacobs uses two channels for its product distribution. This includes online selling and through own stores.

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

• Bob Jacobs has partnered with delivery service companies to distribute its products effectively to consumers.

• Bob Jacobs has also adopted an omni-channel distribution system.

Promotion

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

• Social media advertisements are also adopted by Bob Jacobs to increase brand awareness.

• Bob Jacobs 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.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to attract and retain customers.

Value Chain Analysis

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

Primary Activities

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

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

• Operational activities of Bob Jacobs 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, Bob Jacobs has been able to set up optimal costs as well as efficient delivery processes to deliver the product on time.

• Bob Jacobs invests in its sales and marketing activities to build relationships with customers.

• Marketing funnel approach is used by Bob Jacobs to effectively devise and build sales and marketing activities.

• Bob Jacobs offers both pre-sale and post-sales services to its customers.

Secondary Activities

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs has developed a strong HRM (Linkov, Carluccio, Pritchard, & Bhreasail, 2020).

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

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs are effectively optimized with its inbound, outbound, and operational activities (Maheswari, Yudoko, & Adhiutama, 2019).

Market Penetration Strategies

• Bob Jacobs can increase the capacity of its production so it can reach more of the customers in its existing market.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs in marketing and sales activities to increase the chances of successful market penetration.

• Bob Jacobs can design and develop a content that increases customer engagement within a particular marketplace.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to penetrate the market.

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

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to mitigate the risk factors, and to gain customer groups of the market.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs for growth purposes. This will also take into consideration the cultural differences.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs.

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

• Bob Jacobs 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

• Bob Jacobs can come up with new improvements and modifications in the existing products to attract the market.

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs to develop something new and innovative that can give a competitive advantage (Kalogiannidis & Mavratzas, 2020).

• Bob Jacobs can develop new products by getting into more strategic partnerships.

Diversification Strategies

• Bob Jacobs 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 Bob Jacobs, where the company can enter into a completely new product development phase that does not exist in the current product line.

• Bob Jacobs can also consider to conglomerate by starting a different business.

Conclusion

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

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