Toyota invented the Toyota Production System (TPS) and in 1994, Nissan developed the Nissan Production Way or NPW to outline its synchronized production philosophy. The idea was to improve the company’s productivity and effectiveness and have a global standard production system. So essentially, manufacture according to the real consumer order, thus coordinating all operations and [...]
Articles
Companies and the Rural Push
With a faltering economy, many companies are sending their sales force into rural areas to increase sales and market share. MNCs like P&G, Unilever and Nestle are not only targeting the tier-1 rich consumers but also the very poor. Here is a look at the rural push by various companies: Unilever in Pakistan – The [...]
Amazon – Amazing Facts
Amazon’s original name was Cadabra. In the 1990s Amazon’s slogan was “Earth’s largest bookstore”. In 2006, the company introduced an online TV and movie store. Kindle e- book store was launched in 2007, and the MP3 digital music store in 2008. Around 800 hardware and software engineers work at Amazon’s devices division in Cupertino, California. [...]
Twittering Profits – Transformational business impact
Low-cost customer service In 2008, Gartner identified Twitter as a disruptive technology that would change business in the coming years. According to some estimates, there are around 3 million users on twitter. Both large corporations and small businesses use the low-cost free micro blogging service for various purposes including gathering customer data, responding to customer [...]
Nokia’s shadow program
Shadowing by colleagues Colleagues follow every move of around 30 of Nokia India’s top management leaders for about a week. They observe what they do, how they do and learn from them. The management team selects top 30 Nokia leaders, not based on hierarchy but from any level who typify Nokia’s four values – PAVE [...]
The Nissan Way – Power from within
Nissan, the Japanese automaker has a very simple management thinking known as the ‘The Nissan Way’. According to the Nissan way, the customer is prime focus, value creation provides the impetus and success is measured in terms of profit. Nissan conducts various Nissan Way workshops where its business leaders share knowledge and educate fellow employees. [...]
Japanese M&A in foreign markets – second-largest acquirers in the world in 2011
Importance of expanding overseas and competing on a global scale In 2010, China had overtaken Japan as the as the world’s second-largest economy as Japan struggled with a stagnant economy. In March 2011, the quake & tsunami disaster disrupted factory production and shook Japanese companies. Earlier, they had focused only on the domestic market and [...]
Co-opetition – When Apple and Microsoft struck a deal
Sleeping With the Enemy On Aug. 6, 1997, at the Macworld conference in Boston Steve Jobs announced the unthinkable. He announced a strategic partnership with rival Microsoft. The surprised audience first clapped then booed when they realized what had just been announced. Earlier, Apple had sued Microsoft for patent infringement. “Apple needs help from other [...]
Why online business in China will become the world’s largest by 2015?
A Boston Consulting Group report stated that by 2015, the yearly value of China’s e-commerce market would grow by four times to $305 billion to become the world’s largest. Many e-commerce enterprises that are famous globally have emerged in China. Here are a few factors responsible for the successful growth of e-commerce in China: Internet [...]
Apple’s Mindshare to Marketshare Retail strategy
Sony vs Apple Almost a decade ago, Sony’s market value was seven times more than Apple’s market share. Today, the tables have turned and Apple’s market value is eleven times more than Sony’s market value. Apple had ended Sony’s dominance of the music player market when Steve Jobs, launched the iPod inspired by Sony’s Walkman. [...]
Hiring at McDonald’s – 50,000 McJobs in a day
McDonald’s announced April 19, 2011 as National Hiring Day in the U.S. McDonald’s has 14,000 restaurants in the U.S. and has 650,000 employees. On April 19, this figure will be 700,000 employees i.e. roughly four people per restaurant. (McDonald’s has around 32000 restaurants globally in 117 countries.) As per the plan, McDonald’s will hire 50,000 [...]
How are successful innovators different?
A recent study (400 companies) on global innovation by Booz & Company found that the most innovative companies (seven out of 10 top innovators) were not necessarily the biggest spenders on innovation. The top 10 innovators are: Apple Google 3M GE Toyota Microsoft P&G IBM Samsung Intel Building right innovation capabilities not mere Spending What [...]
Tesco’s mistakes in US – Not understanding the American Customer
In early 2006, Tesco plc decided to enter the US market with convenience stores (Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets) to be launched by 2007. Tesco had been studying the American market for two decades and its entry was long time coming. Though the company is not faring that well (currently loss making and is not [...]
McDonald’s versus Subway – The Sandwich Hamburger battle
In March 2011, sandwich chain Subway surpassed the world’s largest hamburger chain, Mcdonald’s in terms of the number of stores globally. In 2002, around nine years ago, Subway had already surpassed McDonald’s in number of stores in the U.S. However, McDonald’s still rules in terms of revenue with $24.1 billion, as compared with $15.2 billion [...]
Rise Mahindra Rise – Brand Makeover and Positioning
Re-branding Mahindra with a New tag-line Around 13 years ago, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) defined its core purpose inspired by Akio Morita, founder of Sony Corporation. Its tag-line read – “Indians are second to none in the world.” While Sony Corporation represented Japan as the best in the world with its world-class products, M&M wanted [...]
Mercadona – Innovative HR Practices for better store performance
Mercadona, a Spanish supermarket chain is not only committed to offering the lowest prices but also personalized customer service. For over a decade, Mercadona has had steady profits and do so for more than a decade. In 2008 it had 1,210 supermarkets. In 2008, its performance, operation-wise was superior to other Spanish chains and also [...]
Reverse Innovation – Definition and Examples
What is Reverse Innovation? Reverse Innovation is the strategy of innovating in emerging (or developing) markets and then distributing/marketing these innovations in developed markets. Many companies are developing products in emerging countries like China and India and then distributing them globally. Who coined or introduced the ‘reverse innovation’ concept? Vijay Govindarajan. He is the Earl [...]
P&G’s Connect and Develop Strategy for Innovation
Reinventing P&G’s innovation business model P&G’s old strategy for innovation was based on the invention model where innovation comes from within the company – ‘invent it ourselves’ model. Earlier, innovation at P&G meant building global research facilities and having the best talent in the world develop unique products or inventions. But with the times and [...]
Intel’s Go-to-market Strategy – Tick Tock
What is ‘Tick Tock’? The term ‘Tick Tock’ has been referred to a music group from Puerto Rico, a novel by Dean Koontz, a fictional character in Marvel Comics Universe and even a dance step, but did you know it is the name of Intel’s go-to-market strategy as well. The global economic downturn hit the [...]
Glocalization Examples – Think Globally and Act Locally
We have heard a lot about globalism versus localism over the years. In order to succeed globally, even the biggest multinationals must think locally. A few examples: McDonald’s In the UK, McDonald’s strategy is to listen more to local consumers and then act on it. The company strives to do this around the world. Some [...]
SWOT Analysis
SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis is used for identifying those areas where an organization is strong, where it is weak, the major opportunities the company can explore and the threats. SWOT analysis is a useful tool for assessing the strategic position of a business and its environment. SWOT [...]
Bharti Gets a Brand Makeover
Brand Strategy – November 2008 Dominant in the telecommunications services market, Bharti Enterprises, the telecom giant has unveiled its vision for 2020. Its latest brand identity attempts to reflect its intent to grow its other businesses such as financial services, retail and agri-business. New Brand Identity and Brand Essence In early Novemeber (2008), Bharti Enterprises, [...]
Coke’s new strategy in India
Business Strategy – India – Training – Retailing – November 2008 With slowdown in developed markets, companies like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are looking at emerging markets like India and China for growth. PepsiCo is aiming to triple its businesses in India over the next five years (and also setting up a new leadership structure in [...]
Dell in India – Business and Marketing Strategy
Business Strategy – Strategic Marketing Dell’s Entry in India Dell International started in India about seven or eight years back by opening a customer contact center at Bangalore in 2001. In 2003, the second contact center was opened at Hyderabad. The company operates its services from four centers based at Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Gurgoan. [...]
Dell’s Turnaround Strategy in 2008
Business Management Article Dell’s new retail business and supply chain approach Dell is taking steps to turnaround its business and recovering from losses and decline in its profit margins. Dell had first announced cost-cutting measures as early as May last year. In 2007, Dell changed its direct-sales model to offer computers in retail outlets, after [...]
Alarm Bell for Dell
Business Turnaround Strategy – February 26, 2009 “Within our business, we’re being very disciplined in managing costs, generating profitability and cash flow, and investing in ways that separate Dell from others today and when the economy inevitably improves.“ – Founder and Chief Executive, Michael S. Dell. In February 2009, Dell Computers announced that it would [...]
Foreign Retailers in the U.S.
Fashion Retailing- March, 2009 How are foreign retailers like Zara, Hennes and Mauritz (H&M), Mango, Uniqlo, Kira Plastinina and Topshop performing in the U.S.? What are their expansion plans and their entry year in the U.S.? Can they compete with The Gap, the U.S. local retail chain which has more than 3,000 stores and has [...]
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Dual Headquarters in London and US
January 14, 2008 – Business Management Article Since its formation in 2001, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the pharmaceutical giant, for the first time will run from its London headquarters. GSK will continue to operate from its dual headquarters, in London and Philadelphia. GSK’s CEO, Andrew Witty (who joined Glaxo UK in 1985) has decided to remain in [...]
HP’s business strategy in a challenging marketplace
Business Strategy – India – November 2008 How is HP dealing with a challenging economy? Leading tech companies (including Intel and Cisco) believe that given the constraints of the economy today and the likely global recession, customer spending on technology will decline rapidly impacting both consumer and corporate purchases. Declining sales figures in October and [...]
Hewlett-Packard’s retail channel advantage over Dell
February 21, 2008 – Business Management Article HP’s retail channel strategy is working Hewlett-Packard (HP), the world’s largest personal-computer maker (based in the Palo Alto, California), beat Dell in PC sales for the sixth straight quarter and posted a fiscal first-quarter profit (February, 2008). The results which topped analysts’ estimates on orders for PCs, servers [...]
IBM acquires NIT, targets small business sales
January 18, 2008 – Business Management Article IBM and importance of small and medium businesses Out of IBM’s total sales, Small and medium business (SMB) revenues account for about 19%. In the fourth quarter 2007, IBM reported that SMB revenues increased by 11% to $5.4 billion. Overall, IBM reported that fourth quarter revenues increased 10% [...]
Business Restructuring at L&T
August, 2009 – Business Strategy, Strategic Management Article Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the engineering and construction giant wants to reposition itself and be a more focused value-added engineering company. L&T is a USD 8.5 billion company and has 12 operating companies and three subsidiaries. The company was mainly into engineering, procurement and construction segments. It [...]
McDonald’s International Innovations
July, 2009 – Strategic Management, Innovation Article McDonald’s, the fast-food retailing giant has a proven formula for doing well in a recession – courting consumers globally by targeting local tastes with global menus. McDonald’s has expanded its global appeal which has resulted in good results, even though almost every type of industry is seeing widespread [...]
Nokia’s Strategy in the Emerging Markets
Business Strategy – India – November 2008 In the emerging markets, Nokia’s business strategy is to: Increase mobile usage in rural areas Reduce the mobile phone ownership and operating costs Bring the benefits of mobile telephony to people in emerging markets Bring the power of the Internet to these markets An end-to-end player with a [...]
Nokia to exit expensive Germany, move production to low cost countries
January 15, 2008 – Business Management Article Finnish cellphone maker, Nokia is planning to close its mobile devices plant in Bochum, Germany by mid-2008, stating that it is not competitive enough. Nokia, the world’s top cellphone maker, may cut up to 2,300 staff. Nokia is moving production to lower-cost regions and to its existing plants, [...]
Nokia increases market share, Motorola Struggles
January 25, 2008 – Business Management Article Nokia with 40% market share in the fourth quarter of 2007 In what is being regarded as the much-awaited and psychologically important milestone, Nokia (NOK), the Finnish handset maker and global giant, announced that it had achieved a 40% market share in the fourth quarter of 2007. This [...]
Nokia – A struggling market leader
Business Strategy and Management – January 24, 2009"In recent weeks, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated rapidly, with even weaker consumer confidence, unprecedented currency volatility and credit tightness continuing to impact the mobile communications industry." – Nokia’s President and chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Nokia is the world’s largest handset manufacturer and the maker of four out [...]
Oprah Winfrey Television Network with Discovery Communications
January 15, 2008 – Business Management Article Oprah Winfrey, the world famous Talk show host and top-earning US celebrity will launch a new television network channel (to debut in 2009 in more than 70 million homes) with Discovery Communications, which owns the Discovery Network and Animal Planet, among others. In a joint statement release, the [...]
P&G – Building a future supply chain in emerging markets
Supply Chain Management Strategy – January 28, 2009 P&G – Being where future customers are In December 2008, Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G), announced an aggressive expansion plan to build 19 production plants to cater to future consumers in developing countries (where the GDP has grown quickly and which have vast populations). By 2010, P&G [...]
Too many Starbucks stores for U.S. coffee Drinkers?
July 04, 2008 – Business Strategy Article A struggling Starbucks Starbucks, the leading coffee retailer has been struggling amidst a faltering US economy, its own rapid growth and increased competition from cheaper rivals. In the first three months of 2008 its net income fell to $108.7m (£54.7m) down 28% from the same period of 2007. [...]
Starbucks – Storm in an instant coffee cup
Business Turnaround Strategy – February 15, 2009 Will a ‘transformational product’ help Starbucks turnaround? Starbucks will begin selling a new product, called Via. Via is an instant coffee product wherein coffee loving consumers can brew the coffee by emptying the granules into hot water (which will replicate the taste of Starbucks coffee). Starbucks CEO Howard [...]
A bit of UPS History, some UPS and some downs
Business Management Article – January 31, 2008 UPS reported a fourth-quarter (2007) net loss of $2.58 billion, compared with a net profit of $1.13 billion, a year earlier. The quarterly loss was mainly due to a $6.1 billion pension-related charge. United Parcel Service Inc (UPS), the world’s largest package delivery company has come a long [...]
Unilever’s Thirty-Day Action Plans
August, 2009 – Business Strategy, Strategic Management Article Polman wants to increase the speed of decision-making in the sprawling company, which is known for its cautious culture. “Thirty-Day Action Plans” introduced under his reign, for example, are designed to make executives act quickly to fix problems with individual products. – The Wall Street Journal, August [...]
Wal-Mart’s Great Value Brand Makeover
Brand Strategy – Retailing- March, 2009 What is ‘Great Value’ brand? In 1993, Wal-Mart launched the Great Value store brand. ‘Great Value’ is the largest grocery brand and the biggest brand that Wal-Mart has with thousands of products spanning 100 categories. Wal-Mart has more than 5,250 of its Great Value private-label products. What did Wal-Mart [...]
Is the Adidas Reebok merger working?
March 05, 2008 – Business Management Article Adidas plus Reebok is equal to better competition with giant Nike In 2006, Adidas (the German athletic apparel and the world’s second-biggest sports goods maker after Nike) acquired Reebok in a US$3.1 billion deal. The merger was aimed at helping Adidas increase its share in the U.S. market [...]
Warren Buffett – Lunch with the Investment Leader
June 29, 2008 – Leadership and Entrepreneurship Article Warren Edward Buffett, Chairman and Chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and admired by many analysts for his shrewd business acumen is primarily known for his investing success. Over the years, Buffett developed his own tenets of buying a business or stock. Not only his investments, but [...]
Daimler, Chrysler and the Failed Merger
March 10, 2008 – Business Management Article Daimler 2007 Profit Rises Mercedes-Benz maker, Daimler AG and the world’s second-largest maker of luxury vehicles reported profits in its fourth-quarter results for 2007. The good results this quarter have come after selling the Chrysler division in the U.S. and cutting jobs at Mercedes-Benz Cars. Without Chrysler, Daimler [...]
Is Dell’s Retail Strategy paying off?
January 17, 2008 – Business Management Article Dell’s Turnaround Strategy working… Ever since founder Michael Dell returned as CEO a year ago, Dell has forayed into retail, made more acquisitions and focussed on cutting costs. IDC reported that Dell is back to double-digit percentage growth in global PC shipments in the fourth quarter. Dell’s worldwide [...]
EBay’s Ethical Supply Chain
Business Ethics and Supply Chains EBay and Ethical sourcing In September 2008, EBay, the online auction giant, launched an ethically sourced online marketplace for selling products that have a positive impact on people and the planet. The project is a collaboration of eBay and World of Good. It includes a nonprofit development organization along with [...]
eBay CEO Meg Whitman plans to retire
January 22, 2008 – Business Management Article Margaret Whitman, the chief executive (CEO) of eBay, is planning to retire so as to breathe fresh life into the company and a much needed radical reinvention of eBay. In March, Ms. Whitman, 51, will have served in the position for 10 years. Whitman, ranks 22nd on Forbes.com’s [...]