1990s Manufacturing, Supply Strategies: Globalization's Challenge - Essay Sample

What have been the main features of the strategies adopted by Manufacturing and Supply Services during the 1990s?

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The top management teams and the CEOs of various large corporates across the world acknowledge the fact that globalization is the main challenge in the current field of manufacturing and supply services (Dunning, 2014, p.10). As such, corporations are aware that internationalization strategies have become more robust in the last few decades (Stadtler, 2015, p.20).

In the 1990s, these manufacturing and supply services adopted almost similar strategies in the market. For instance, companies were striving to produce reliable, high-quality products (Dunning, 2014, p.10). Again, the industrial markets in the 1990s were less profitable and more difficult across the world. However, there existed some competent smaller manufacturers that could engage the giants in stiff business competitions.

Ideally, most of the industrial customers were also being too hard to do business with (Stadtler, 2015, p.26). Therefore, they kept on their schedules, thus making to guarantee long term business continuity. In this light, various manufacturing and service industries adopted multiple strategies to cope up with the dynamic business environment (Dunning, 2014, p.11). The main features of these strategies adopted by the manufacturing and the supply services within the 1990s included; adapt to the business model, changing the model contexts as well as staying away from countries where such strategies would be uneconomical.

Adapting To Own Strategies

This strategic feature enabled multinationals to modify their business models. As such, they ensured that they stuck to their primary business propositions even as they tried to adapt to their business models (Dunning, 2014, p.13). As such, the manufacturing and supply services within the 1900s were aware that if they made drastic and radical shifts, they would lose their advantages of global branding and global scale (Stadtler, 2015, p.24).

Changing the Contexts of Operation

The other important feature of the manufacturing and the supply service of the 1900s was that they were powerful enough to alter the context of their operations (Stadtler, 2015, p.22). This because they were aware that the proliferation of foreign companies into the market would result in drastic transformations within the local product market (Dunning, 2014, p.19). For instance, in the case provided, Linda- CDS' marketing Director also noted, for example, that the premium-priced colors and textures would become famous within one or two years due to promotions, after which they would become more irrelevant in the successive years.

As such, the manufacturing and supply services ensured that there was a coordinated range of items as well as new distribution networks necessary for changing the contexts of operations wherever there were new entries in the market. Therefore, the manufacturing and supply services in the 1990s employed more combative measures in dealing with the new competitive entries into the market (Stadtler, 2015, p.23).

Staying Away

Most of the manufacturing and supply services in the 1990s stayed away, especially when they realized that adaptation to some new business models would be impractical and uneconomical. Such a strategy was accompanied by offering low priced and high-quality services to the clients so that they remained relevant within the competitive market (Dunning, 2014, p.15). Even though such companies may not have used similar strategies within the developing countries, they generated various synergies by treating different markets like parts of a system (Stadtler, 2015, p.26).

As such, most of the manufacturing and the supply services in the 1990s focused more on sourcing talents and innovations with the sole aim of securing their future (Stadtler, 2015, p.20). The companies that viewed it uneconomical and impractical to adopt the new market models resorted to organized promotions that would enable them to remain competitive within the market model.

What were operations-based competitive advantages developed under the influence of these strategies?

The operation- based competitive advantages is concerned with how an organization becomes different from the other competitors based on the day-to-day operations (Liu, 2013, p.2821). The various strategies that were developed by companies in the 1990s enabled them to gain a competitive advantage over other organizations.

For instance, adapting to their strategies and models gave many companies a competitive advantage over the other since they remained relevant even after the seasons of new market entries (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018, p 54). Such companies continued faithful to their aims of offering quality goods at relatively low prices with the sole objective of maintaining the customer flow throughout the season. As such, they survived the eminent competitions that the new market entries came along with in the 1990s.

Furthermore, the companies that embraced the strategy of changing the operation context were aware that the proliferation of foreign companies into the market would result in drastic transformations within the local product market (Liu, 2013, p.2823). For instance, in the case provided, Linda- CDS' marketing Director also noted, for example, that the premium-priced colors and textures would become famous within one or two years due to promotions after which they would become more irrelevant in the successive years (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018, p 50). As such, changing the operation context in terms of broadening the stock base as well as widening the supply base ensured that such organizations reached a more comprehensive market amidst the eminent market competition.

Again, staying away strategy that was adopted by several organizations in the 1990s gave such companies operation-based competitive advantage since their services were not severely affected before, during, and after the proliferation of new competitors into the market (Liu, 2013, p.2821). They remained focused on offering quality goods and services even during the competitive era. As such, they were able to maintain their customer base. Also, such companies may not have used similar strategies within the developing countries, and they generated various synergies through treating different markets as parts of a system (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018, p 53).

Were the strategies developed, or did they simply evolve, or both?

It is important to note that globalization and changes in the global market necessitated changes in market strategies with the sole aim of remaining relevant within the global market. Therefore, even though some of the market strategies were developed in some organizations, they simply evolved in others (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018, p 54).

For instance, Linda- CDS' marketing Director Notes that the company had remained competitive at such a time primarily due to consumer satisfaction through the provision of quality services to retailers. The organization had also immensely benefitted from collaboration and partnerships with other companies (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018, p 54). Through the connections that evolved at that time, various companies used different companies to advertise and sell some goods on their behalf (Armstrong et al., 2018, p.18). Such companies had to be those of good reputation within the global market.

Development of New Markets

How might the development of the design house and major retailer services markets affect the operation of the Manufacturing and Supply Services departments?

The development of the design house and some primary retail services significantly affects the operation of the manufacturing and the supply service departments in several ways. For instance, such developments come along with the ability to overcome certain quality and technical challenges (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018, p.10). For example, Linda- CDS' marketing Director alludes to the fact that their alliance with several German and Italian design houses had tremendous effects on the operations of the CDS Company.

As such, the organization was able to place itself as complete service partners to the designers. Thus they could access well-developed capabilities as well as order processing and manufacturing ability (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014, p.12). The skills are essential in the development of genuinely equal partnerships capable of integrating the organization within the general activities of the industry. Through involving professionally respected house designers, the manufacturing company can easily translate the technical designs into some manufacturable and sellable products (Armstrong et al., 2018, p.10).

Furthermore, the design house partnerships often involved relatively long lead times. However, they are characterized by unique products with very high margins, which nearly carry the brand of the design house (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014, p.10). The kind of joint venture always comes along with a series of benefits. For example, the design partner enables the company to be valued equally in their marketing, distribution as well as manufacturing competencies.

Moreover, such design house partnerships enable the organization to gain access to the latest ideas philosophies, market research as well as the right to use the leading designer brand names (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014, p.8). Consequently, the company can receive reasonable royalty payments as well as access to the partners' unique capabilities (Armstrong et al., 2018, p.17). Thus, it becomes a win-win scenario between partner companies.

In the case study, the CEO appreciates the fact that the joint venture had portrayed significant strengths to the industry. Their design expertise had gained them entry into partnerships with other organizations (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014, p.10). As such, the organization gained equal valuation for its distribution, marketing as well as manufacturing competencies.

The collaboration within the significant retail services involved an organization taking responsibility for all the product dealers. For instance, the CDS took responsibility for the entire category of the plastic homewares for the supermarket group. This approach involved having some access to the data systems of the retailer and, based on such data, decide on what all the stores had to contain within their various shelves.

Thus, the ranges of products supplied are often not adventurous in terms of their design of colors, plan even though it was a concept style that exhibited the Concept brand (Armstrong et al., 2018, p.18). Where possible, the products of the competitors, as well as the focus range, can be included, especially where they filled the gaps of the partner's range.

In the case study provided, Linda notes that supermarkets, for example, are not more sophisticated when it comes to their non-food buying compared to the food products. As such, they could easily delegate the duty of supplying some of the essential goods and products the consumers to another company (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014, p.12). As such, the supermarkets use the partners to extract some profits, especially in terms of the profit per meter of the shelf space.

More specifically, what new capabilities may be required to serve these new markets effectively and profitably?

The realization of a successful company marketing strategy must involve an understanding of whatever is happening within the global markets. The organizational plan is essential in defining the market orientation of any firm which relates to the focus of a company concerning factors such as competitors, customers as well as departmental dynamics (Grant, 2012, p. 110). The market...