SWOT Analysis: EZ-Pleeze Establishes Competitive Edge in Food Industry - Essay Sample

Introduction

SWOT analysis is conducted for EZ-Pleeze Company to establish specific frameworks that indicate the capacity and ability of the organization to overcome the various threats to its survival. It is also aimed at reveling the preparedness of the organization in taking advantage of the multiple opportunities within the food industry. EZ-Pleeze aimed at establishing a competitive edge that is sustainable of its rivals within the industry, and this enables the Company to come up with business plans that are effective in minimization of the disadvantages while at the same time exploiting the existing opportunities over its rival competitors. EZ-Pleeze should utilize its strengths, improve on its weaknesses, and combat the external threats in order to achieve a competitive edge over its competitors (Schwalbe, 2008). Additionally, the company should conduct an assessment of its external environment in order to exploit the opportunities prior to its competitors. SWOT analysis is, therefore, crucial for the strategic planning of the organization.

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EZ-Pleeze's Internal Strength

The organization has various strengths, which are essential for its continued operations, and they include innovation and creativity, employee strength, and the services offered to its customers. Among the company's key competencies are creativity and innovations. EZ-Pleeze encourages and promotes the generation of new ideas on the best ways of advancing its meat and chicken products as part of its competitive strategy.

The organization also deploys new technology when it comes to operational activities as it aims at enhancing the efficiency of carrying out various tasks. Evidently, the company has invested heavily in the latest technology used in the preparation of the meat products, which is key in meeting consumer demand. The company leads the industry when it comes to the development and research that is focused on genetic modification, nutrition, and technology related to the production of meat. EZ-Pleeze is, therefore, able to produce meat and chicken that is healthiest compared to the others within the industry. The organization also ensure a high level of customer satisfaction through contacting their client often to get their feedback on whether their desires are being met or not. Additionally, the need to keep a high level of consumer services has been incorporated into the company's mission statement to constantly remind the employees of the importance of customer service to the company. The employees are, therefore, able to offer the best services to their customers and provide products that are of the highest quality.

The company also believes that employees are its biggest strength and invest more in training and development of their staff and ensuring their welfare is top-notch. Through this, employees become motivated and offer quality services and products to the customers. Employees are allowed to contribute towards innovative ventures hence making them feel appreciated and involves in various aspects of the organization.

Internal Weakness of EZ-Pleeze

Various factors render EZ-Pleeze disadvantageous compare to the other competitors within the market. These are inhibitors when it comes to the attainment of the objectives of the company. The first inhibitor is the high cost of labor since the meat and chicken industry requires much manpower. Due to the high requirement, it becomes impossible to moderate the cost of labor. The high labor cost shifts the price of the chicken and meat products, and the consumers suffer the effect ultimately as the prices are higher to offer compensation for the associated increase in the cost of labor. As the prices become expensive, the sales of EZ-Pleeze declines hence bringing the net profit down as clients get scared aware of the high prices, making them consider buying from the competitors. Customers who tend to be price-sensitive are likely to shift immediately; there is a slight change in the prices being charged but do not consider the other aspects like the quality of the products. The company also invests heavily in advertising and marketing and in technology, which reduces the funds available for cash flow hence reducing the financial stability of the organization. The investments lead to a financial drain to the organization, and this could lead to the termination of contracts for certain employees to cater to the financial damages. Ideally, weakness scares away the consumers and the shareholders, and this is critical for the company as the desired growth is stalled.

External Opportunities for EZ-Pleeze

These are factors that are in the external environment and are beyond the control of the organization that can be exploited to the advantage of the organization. Other businesses in the industry are closing their operations, creating the opportunity for EZ-Pleeze to tap into and expand its operations by luring the customers from the closed businesses hence increasing the customer base for the company leading to the increase in returns. Product differentiation is also an important aspect that EZ-Pleeze should enhance through engaging in innovation and creativity and advancing the level of technology in their operations, which will be crucial in having a competitive edge. Additionally, there is a rise in demand when it comes to prepared chicken, and the company being innovative should endeavor to embrace the new niche within the market. Through this, the company can exploit the new market that various players have not flooded in order to increase the profit margin for the company.

External Threats to EZ-Pleeze

External threats entail factors outside the company that inhibits the attainment of the company's objectives. These factors affect how the company performs, and among them being the technological change, competition, the change in customer preference, and various government regulations. The continuously changing technology is a threat to the organization as it forces the company to change the old ways of meat production and embrace the technology. The change is expensive, and also requires training among the employees in order to gain skills necessary to operate the new machines that come in place due to the advancement in the level of technology (Anthony, 2018). The changes in government regulations like labor laws, safety laws, and taxes affect the operation of EZ-Pleeze. The practices of the organization are subject to the federal and state laws and the various regulations that monitor food safety, packaging, processing, and distribution.

A change in the laws triggers the company to change its existing strategy in order to stay consistent following the new regulations. Ideally, the process is expensive and can lead to significant losses to the company as the company struggles to adhere to the changes. The company also faces a high level of competition in the industry as more entrants enter the market. Various players such as Beefchix Industries offer intensive competition, and this might cause prices to go down, leading to a reduction in the net profit for EZ-Pleeze. Customer preferences keep changing, and this is a threat to the company. Change in customer preference means the sales of the product decreasing as the customer move to another brand, and this can lead to the face-out of the brand (Hill & Westbrook, 1997). Therefore, it is ideal for the company to identify threats in advance and plan on how to mitigate them.

Strategic Action Recommendation for the EZ-Pleeze

The company should come up with a group working on technological matters to provide guidance to the staff who are responsible for the economic development regarding the latest issues when it comes to technology and the various existing opportunities. The company should continuously monitor the events taking place pertaining to technology, and a strategy document should be put in place to aid in monitoring the changes. The team tracking the changes will be crucial for EZ-Pleeze in making the organization well equipped with the requisite skills necessary to enhance customer satisfaction by getting the healthiest products within the market.

Additionally, the organization should continue to improve compliance with the set laws and regulations, such as food safety, processing standards, storage, and the distribution of products. This will help me avoiding conflicts with the authorities hence ensuring the consumers get the best products that meet all the regulatory standards for consumption. Consumers prefer organizations that are law-abiding as they do not like dealing with counterfeited dealers in the market. In essence, regulatory compliance is essential in enhancing the public image of the organization. Continuously leveraging the key strength of the organization, such as its employees in the strategic decision and plans, is crucial in enhancing the productivity of the company as employees form an essential part of AZ-Pleeze assets.

Conclusion

In conclusion, SWOT analysis is an essential aspect of EZ-Pleeze when it comes to strategic planning and decision making. The organization should maximize its strength embedded in its structure and operations to give it a competitive edge over the competitors in the market. Additionally, the company should strive to minimize its weakness by making plans aimed to overcome internal weakness, which is not ideal for the attainment of organizational goals. The organization should also tap into the opportunities existing in the environment within which it operates as these would give the organization a competitive edge and increase the sales. Finally, the company should aim at mitigating the threats that come from outside in their niche. Threats are inhibito...