Crocs made a splash in 2003 when they introduced their funny looking, brightly colored, plastic clogs that the whole family could wear (Hoyt & Silverman, 2008). By 2007, the company reported $847 million in revenues (von Briesen, 2009). From preschoolers to doctors, these shoes appealed to a vast array of consumers. The reason for Crocs’ success over the past few years can be attributed to their value chain strategy in which customers ultimately had the power (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). Value chains exist to create value for the customer at each step of the product’s life, from raw materials to marketing to final product disposal or reuse (“Value Chain,” n.d.). The sequence of this chain is intended to create a high value product for the customer at a low cost. Crocs’ use of the value chain allowed them to create a valuable product and add value as the company grew, but if I had been a part of the management team my value chain would have incorporated different marketing, forecasting, and acquisition techniques to create a robust brand that achieved long-term success.
Crocs’ customer centered value chain helped them create and market a custom, yet reasonably priced product that met and exceeded customers’ unique needs (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). First, Croc’s succeeded in transforming raw material into something that added value to consumers’ lives. The croslite material used to make the shoes is valuable to consumers because it is lightweight and molds to the shape of the wearer’s foot. Their shoe design is concentrated on comfort and durability. Also, this croslite material makes Crocs easy to maintain and resists bacteria and fungus (Hoyt & Silverman, 2008). Secondly, Crocs has been able to produce their product for a reasonable...
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The corporation should invest more money in research and innovation since this is what has helped them to make a product that rivals their competitors. At the same time, it is imperative for them to improve their machinery for cheap labor costs which will help the company increase its production allowing it to meet the demand in the market. By improving production leading to lower costs of making shoes, apparel, and equipment, Nike will achieve higher demand assuming a quality product is maintained in that process. They will stand a better chance of competing in the industry (Hill, 2009). The organization is already in a better position for meeting the demand, customer taste, and needs. The company should improve quality by focusing on developing lightweight products that are more durable compared to those offered by the competitors. Also, Nike can keep up their success by continuing to reinvent and improve their items and continue to meet the current demand by using new technology. It can also use the Internet to communicate with consumers (Hill, 2009). By developing new technology, Nike will allow the customers to suggest and design their shoes online. To achieve this goal, it is fundamental to enhance areas such as their website to make it more user-friendly. Finally, the company should pay attention to small startup organizations that enter the
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In reviewing the case of New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. it is clear that there are a few major problems that the company is facing. First of all, New Balance falls behind its other major competitors, Nike, Adidas and Reebok, in the area of marketing. Unlike its competitors, New Balance does not undertake celebrity endorsements. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to brand building. This also causes the company to lose out somewhat on gaining awareness on a global scale as it lacks endorsements in major sporting events. Most global brand names generate strong brand recognition through celebrity endorsements in sporting events that would give them the needed momentum to carry their brand name further into the global market.
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To get started, we first need to understand what Crocs' value chain is and how that process plays a role in the strategic direction of the company. The authors of our text, views the value chain as "the entire series of organizational work activities that add value at each step, from raw materials to finished product. In its entirety, the value chain can encompass supplier's suppliers to the customer's customers"(Robbins & Coulter, 2009, p.430). At Crocs, the entire series of organization work activities may be broken down even further using Porter's value chain model of viewing a manufacturing (or service) primary and secondary activities as a "system made up of subsystems, each with inputs, transformation processes and outputs"(Ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk, 2011). A diagram, compliments of Porter(1985) can be seen below: