Question 1: What kind of company is Otis?
OTIS Elevators started out in 1853 by the invention of the “safety brake elevator.” Their core business is designing, installing and provide service within the industry of elevators, escalators and walkways. Today OTIS operates worldwide, with headquarter in the U.S. and different facilities located in European and Asian countries. Through this they have managed to become market leaders in their field.
Throughout time the business focus of OTIS have changed. Today the focus has moved from the manufacturing area towards a more total solution, where the most important is to provide a high class customer service. This is to be seen through their vision: “To become the recognized leader in service excellence among all companies – not just elevator companies – worldwide.”
Question 2: What are the sources of income of Otis?
OTIS’s source of income is to be divided in two parts, as follows the development of the market. New markets, as China, mainly profits with new sales, e.g. 62,000 units of elevators and/or escalators were installed in China in 2002. Concerning the more mature and satiate markets, as Western Europe and the U.S., 75 % of the profit is provided service.
This allocation of income also reflects the customer demand, as the ability to satisfy elevator performance and specification, together with the service cost often becomes the customer major consideration. This often concludes in discount long-time service contracts offered by the elevator suppliers. The reason for this reaction is understandable as that the elevator service market is high competitive due to its steady demand, low entry barriers and high profitability.
A further indication is that the revenue, now coming from China, eventually will move from new sales toward provided service. This is estimated since the Chinese market, by time, will become a more mature market.
Question 3: How did Otis report elevator failure before 1986?
Before OTISLINE were installed the service personnel were dispatched from local offices. With no interaction between the different offices, OTIS had a minimal level of communication throughout the entire cooperation regarding the service area. Due to this the knowledge sharing was very poor and each local office handled each service request single handed, minimizing the efficiency. Further, the communication throughout the organization was also very poor, where service problems never reached the senior management until they had become critical situations. All together this had a negative impact on the service time causing the customers unnecessary waiting time.
Henry Ford and his engineers designed several automobiles, each one designated by a letter of the alphabet: these included the small, four cylinder Model N (which sold for $500), and the more luxurious six-cylinder Model K (which sold poorly for $2500). In October 1908, ...
Jesse W. Reno was the inventor of the first working escalator. He lived from 1861 to 1947. He was born in Fort Leavenworth, KS. The first escalator was built as an amusement ride for Coney Island next to Old Iron Pier in 1895, it only ran for two weeks but more than 75,000 passengers rode it. The first escalator only rose 7 feet up in the air, but it was more than exciting back then. It also elevated the passengers belt 25 degree angle. Without Jesse W. Reno building this inclined elevator/escalator we would not have the elevators we have today. Reno came up with the idea at age 16. Charles Seeberger designed the modern escalator, around 1900, named it what it is called today. Three people have invented a type of escalator.
Currently majority revenue is generated by store sales but online sales from the stores’ websites are increasing. With US dollar getting weaker, international sales from these US based websites are increasing too. This creates significant positive outlook for the large incumbent players but also acts as a significant barrier of entry for new players.
Black & Decker (B&D) is a global manufacturer and the world’s largest producer of power tools, power tool accessories, electric lawn and garden tools, and residential security hardware. The company was a pioneer in innovation and development of power tools and has used that position to build strong brand names that enjoy worldwide recognition. Key Causes for Poor Performance in the Professional-Tradesmen Segment The reason B&D has performed poorly in the professional-tradesmen segment is due to the positioning of the B&D brand in this segment. Poor positioning of the brand has resulted in customer confusion and negatively impacted customer perception of the brand in terms of being a quality product. B&D Performance in the Power Tool Industry Overall Any adjustments to B&D’s strategy in the professional-tradesmen segment must not have an adverse impact on their success in the consumer or professional-industrial segments. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the needs of each segment will be important in building a viable strategy to challenge Makita in the professional-tradesmen segment, while continuing to maintain share in the other two segments. _Consumer _Segment Professional-Tradesmen Segment This category consists of professionals who are buying a product for their own use on a job site. Their livelihood depends on the quality and performance, as well as the reflection on their skills that using a particular tool brings from others on the job site. Since they are purchasing their own tools, this segment needs this high quality performance at a reasonable price. However, since Makita and Milwaukee are both priced higher than B&D and are seeing greater success in this category, tradesmen are clearly willing to pay more for a product they perceive will be more effective for their use. Key needs for this market segment include: Performance and quality - {text:change} does the job needed to be done, doesn’t break down, produces high-quality results and more efficiently gets the job done. Reliability and durability - does the job every time and can be used for an extended period of heavy continual use. Safety Support from the Manufacturer – if the product breaks or performs poorly, access to replacement parts and service will be key in maximizing performance up-time.
Opening its doors for the first time in 1946, Lowe’s is now the second largest home improvement chain in the world, operating over 1,800 stores in the United States, generating $56.2 billion in sales and $2.6 billion in net income for 2014 (Lowes Newsroom, 2015). Employing around 265,000 personal making them one of the top employers in the nation, there is no question that Lowe’s must be doing something right. According to Lowes Newsroom, “Lowe’s professional customers represent approximately 30 percent of total sales, approximately 16 million retail and professional customers are served each week. (2015, para 3) “Never Stop Improving”, is Lowe’s slogan; encouraging employees and customers to work together to maximize their in store
This means that, in the coming years, the yuan will be stronger in the coming years which will make the return on sales to increase.
In addition, One.Tel had low complexity that is determined by having unclear job tasks and responsibilities. As there is no organizational chart, the relationship between the employees could not be determined and the job descriptions were ambiguous. Understaffing, which often happens, and many called from customers were left unanswered, led to the long-term decline in sales, as there was frustration among the customers. No rules and procedures in handling account and customers complaint shown that One.Tel was lack of formalization in operation. One.Tel also did not run its divisions’ function properly. There was no right procedure in training staff and it recruited young inexperienced staffs. It also had disorganized billing system and financial account.
Growing sales through service: TP came up with new methods to satisfy customers. Furthermore, employees got trained on acting in customers favour.
Customer service is valued as a competitive tool by many organisations. It gives you the ability to gain customer loyalty while meeting the customer’s expectations. Staff will have many skills and knowledge that will provide a competitive edge. Most organisations are known for the quality of their customer service. This means that they are known for good customer service or poor customer service. However, being known for good customer service will attract customers. It will also attract customers who are usually hard to reach.
Each category will be analyzed using IKEA student info website, IKEA group corporate website, resources from University of Phoenix library and articles from magazines. The key questions that the author will address are
The economic theory of supply and demand dictates that an excess of supply (hotels) to demand (customers) leads to a lower price consumers are willing to pay. This creates inelasticity within hotel pricing and places substantial pressure on management to meet the pricing needs of customers while providing an attractive and unique service. Hotel services are also intangible in nature, placing increased burden on hotel owners to utilise all available rooms through discounts and deals.
Over the past few years, the increasing dynamism and competition in the business operating environment has led to a lot of changes in how the companies conduct themselves with respect to its customers. Customers being the focal point of revenue; manufacturers are increasingly taking interest in being focused on customer satisfaction by delivering the products and services on time.
In advertising its products, the IKEA catalogs played a primary role as they were attractive and easy to use. The efficiency of IKEA products and quality of design were emphasized in the catalogs. Every household in the area surrounding a new store received a copy of the catalog during the busy years of expansion. Although direct mail-order sales usually represented a very small portion of the total sales. The whole IKEA range was not offered by the catalogs. To attract new customers to the stores, they were always a key factor. Throughout the world, IKEA continued to open stores in different locations and attracted various customers. It was interesting to look at a company offering the same basic products at all stores and do well in many different cultures with different tastes. Lastly, the IKEA’s current number of employees in retail and expansion functions is 116,500 as of 2015. Thus, the total sum of employee worldwide in 2015 was 155, 000. Literally, the rate of employee would be increased in terms of business development in the future. (Brammer, Jackson, and Matten,
Potential new entrants: With positive economic outlook, fine business environment, and increasing number of population growth rate, it is expected that there will be more companies coming in the industry;
Until recently, Ford Motor Company was in possession of most of the production and distribution of all materials and parts needed to produce cars. Ford Motor Company owned everything from steelworks needed for the frame of the car down to the rubber farms needed for the tires and hoses. Ford Motor Company even retained railways so that supplies and finished cars could be transported to their intended destination (Muthusamy, 2014). However, owning all the supplies in the world would be ineffective if the company was not capable of using its resources in the appropriate manner. For that reason, Ford Motor Company revolutionized the Industrial Era with its concept of the assembly line which would enable it to dominate its industry for a long