Eastern Msar Trading & Contracting Co.: Background and SWOT Analysis

1. Introduction

This report covers various aspects of the report. Firstly, it introduces the company by providing information about its vision, motto, and strategies. Also, the company background incorporates the products and services offered by the firm and some of its customers. The report also provides a SWOT analysis of a company, as well as mentioning its business strategy. Further, it provides an internship agenda, which highlights what was one, or rather, the job history of the internship through the six weeks. Additionally, it provides the conceptual and technical framework of the firm regarding three dimensions of management information system, which are supply chain, inventory, and human resources. It also provides experiences from the internship and findings, which then yield a recommendation. Lastly, it provides a succinct conclusion of the report, where an interlinked approach of the three areas is adopted to promote quality and less erroneous and strenuous shipping process.

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2. Company Background

Eastern Msar Trading & Contracting Co. was established in 1968 as an individual supply and service unit. Since then, the company has grown to become one of the largest and leading business conglomerates in Saudi Arabia. Being a private sector company, it has employed at least fifty employees who serve in the various departments, including logistics, warehousing, and administration. It has diversified interest in supply of various engineering products, as well as offering related services to oil and gas process industries in the local Saudi market. Its primary role is to provide expert solutions in promoting projects and the knowledge to participate and obtain tenders in both private and public organizations. The company's motto is to understand the past, participation/adoption for the present, and working for the future. In addition, it plays a dynamic and active role in the success of any business undertaking. Its vision is to be a leading provider of the best practices by focusing on the development of new technologies and services across all industries. The firm's strategy is consistently looking for innovations, as well as evolving marketing strategies to cater for the increasing requirements of the Saudi market. By demonstrating high professionalism, the company supports its strategy on promoting new technologies, increasing local content, and encouraging local business development, while also maintaining high levels of integrity, environmental protection, and safety.

In light of this role, the company has diversified in various industries. These are coupling and power transmissions, o-strings and gaskets, installation, and commissioning, silicone and tungsten carbide parts, mechanical seals and spare parts, pumps for O & G, petrochemical, power and water, power diesel generators, construction and maintenance, technical and upgrade solutions programs, and comprehensive engineering services. Its services include project management, installation and commissioning, metallic and non-metallic manufacturing services, units packaging, technical and upgrade solutions, and comprehensive engineering services. By focusing on service and product, the company is now enjoying market presence as a leading international supplier, and has built a working rapport with various companies, such as Saudi Aramco, Sabic, Yasref, Saudi Electricity Company, Sipchem, Sadara, and Maaden. Besides, Eastern Msar Trading & Contracting Co. has also built an enviable rapport with joint sector companies in oil and gas, power and water, petrochemical, and mining among others.

3. SWOT Analysis and the Company’s Business Strategy

Eastern Msar Trading & Contracting Co. SWOT AnalysisThe SWOT analysis is an important tool for analyzing a company's internal and external environment (Hill & Westbrook, 1997; Pickton & Wright, 1998). As the authors assert, it is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and opportunities analyze the internal environment while the weaknesses are used in analyzing the external environment. In essence, strengths provide the business characteristics that give it advantage over the other businesses while the weaknesses are the firm's characteristics that provide a disadvantage relative to other businesses. On the other hand, opportunities are elements that the firm can use to its advantage while threats are those elements that can place the business at a competitive disadvantage.

a. Eastern Msar Trading & Contracting Co. SWOT Analysis

Strengths

1. Experienced and competent personnel, including engineers and managers that ensure proper management of the firm and its resources.

2 Excellent supply chain system that ensures that the items are delivered in time and there is always enough warehouse space to store them.

3. The company has established an enviable rapport with many companies, including Saudi Aramco, Sabic, Yasref, Saudi Electricity Company, Sipchem, Sadara, and Maaden, and thus, it is involved in various projects with these firm that enable it to have constant revenues.

4. The company has managed numerous projects and has experience over them, hence it ensures that the projects are done within the requirements and quality is observed.

5. Since the company was established in 1968, it has a better brand image, it has loyal customers, as well as vast experience in conducting the various projects.

Weaknesses

1. The company's website lacks adequate information about the company. In essence, there is no information about investor relations.

2. The company is not actively involved in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR initiatives are geared towards building a better brand image and recognition.

3. Engineering firms have to put in place a working research and design department which researches on how to improve product and service quality, as well as new ways of manufacturing better products. The company has no such department, which can make innovation slow.

4. The logistics department often suffers delays, which can compromise the delivery of quality services.

5. The company has no management information system that, as Relvas et al. (2013) point out, integrates supply chain, inventory, knowledge management, and customer relationships.

Opportunities

1. The engineering field is always a technologically changing field, and thus, the company can adapt to newer technologies.

2. Companies are always looking for ways to improve their services and products, and thus, the company can invest in research and development to adapt newer and better business models that better the services for the different companies in the engineering sector.

3. There are numerous tenders for both private and public companies, and thus, Eastern Msar Trading & Contracting Co. should always be on the lookout to obtain them via the tendering process.

4. There are institutions that provide adequate training on personnel, and thus, the company should ensure that its employees are properly trained to increase competency levels and ensure that they observe quality in their undertakings.

5. It can better its supply chain management system by adopting newer technologies that provide better visibility of the company's assets, such as GPS trackers.

Threats

1. There are a variety of competitors vying for the various tenders, and in some instances, the company is not shortlisted for Request for Proposals, and thus, it cannot be awarded certain contracts.

2. Global competition has seen bigger companies being awarded contracts for high level projects.

b. Eastern Msar Trading & Contracting Co. Corporate Strategy

The company has adopted an innovative strategy that evolves marketing strategies to cater for the increasing requirements in the Saudi market. In light of this strategy, the company seeks to increase local content marketing, promoting new technological developments, and encouraging local development of the different businesses while also upholding a high degree of professionalism and integrity. In addition, the company ensures that its products and services are inclined towards environmental protection. In addition, since the company's motto is futuristic, the company's strategy is based on consistent and continuous improvement of product quality. Therefore, the strategy allows the company to be cost-efficient, as well as allowing for flexibility that emanate from innovative products and services. The strategy is also supported by the company's Management Information System (MIS) that supports and streamlines all departments, including logistics, warehousing, and administration. For instance, the warehouse must always have enough space for incoming products…