More handpicked essays just for you.
Principles For Understanding The Strategic Planning Process
Strategic planning notes
Paper on strategic planning process
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Azalea Seafood Gumbo Shoppe
Executive Summary
Azalea Seafood Gumbo Shoppe wishes to develop a strategic plan to maintain long-term growth and sustain a competitive advantage. For Azalea to accomplish this, they will need to consider the options presented here. Included is an analysis of Azalea's problems and issues to address, along with recommendations to grow the business. The recommendations are based on the status of the current market and forces that drive the industry.
Azalea has a great product that will perform very well in the market. Marketing and sales are areas that will also need improvement. Management is very capable and should easily be able to adjust to competition in the market. A great deal of opportunity lies ahead in the many unfulfilled niches to be filled and explored. Azalea will need to expand and diversify its customer base. This can easily be accomplished by focusing on marketing and sales efforts. The company needs to concentrate on, not only providing a quality product, but also creating a well-known and trusted name. Azalea can easily become a household name!
Currently Azalea's average ROA is at 68%. As compared with industry norms this is wonderful. However, debt for the company is at 87% and needs to be much less. This too can be corrected with time and effort. The quick ratio is at 1 and short-term credit remains safe. Cash flow will also need to be improved by implementing a gradual price increase and initiating key retail locations.
Azalea has not been able to attract business due to the state of their facility, which must be updated to allow for growth. A major roadblock that must be addressed is the fact that the company has not been able to meet FDA or USDA standards. This must take priority and be resolved as quickly as possible. This is crucial to creating a trusted name in the market place.
Production and distribution issues will also be addressed. Many production issues will be corrected as the facility is updated. Distribution is less of an immediate problem and future growth will resolve many of these concerns.
In the end, the owners must agree and commit to a plan. If the owners stand firm with their decision and remain flexible and dedicated to the plan, success is imminent.
Problems and Issues
Antiquated quality control techniques and processes Unable to meet FDA and USDA standards.
The primary problem would be the structure of the organization. This is due to the fact that there are thirteen departments in total which would lead to the failure of the ability to concentrate on long term viability of the business.
Good niche and mission. Calyx and Corolla filled a consumer need. Consumers wanted very fresh and long lasting flowers and the company delivered it. Efficient distribution was the key to flower industry and the company was able to shorten delivery to customers by bypassing the middle distribution layers, and provide much faster deliveries than traditional FTD deliveries. For example, Calyx and Corolla delivered roses from growers to consumers within 1-2 days of purchase order compared with one to two weeks for other FTD retailers and florists.
In 1996, Jim Wagner was hired as chief financial officer and was able to successfully achieve steady profitability for the company. One year later, in 1997, in an attempt to source its strategic investments, Natureview organized an equity infusion from a venture capital firm; however, the venture capital now needs to cash out of its investment in Natureview and management will therefore need to find another investor or position itself for acquisition. In order to attain the maximum potential valuation, the company must make strategic marketing choices in an attempt to increase revenues to $20 million before the end of year 2001. And to meet this lofty goal, Natureview can potentially enter a new market and transition from the natural food channel into the supermarket channel, a move that would signify a dramatic departure from the company’s present cha...
Strategic planning is crucial for the success of all business endeavors. Analyzing currents trends in technology, consumer markets, competition, and the workforce can play a pivotal part in whether or not the organization can survive. Overtime, strategic planning strategies must be modified in order to compensate for changes in the industry. Goals and strategic planning often necessitate change to ensure that the organization is performing at peak level, while offering the most beneficial and quality services to consumers.
The main challenge is to determine how Panera Bread can continue to achieve high growth rates in the future. Panera Bread is operating in an extremely high competitive restaurant market which forces the company to improve and to grow steadily for staying profitable. The company’s mission statement of putting “a loaf of bread in every arm” is just underlying Panera’s commitment for growing. They are now in a good financial situation and facing growth rates of up to 20% per year in a niche market that has a great growth potential. In the next 7 years the fast-casual market is expected to grow by 500% in sales to a total of $30 billion.
Finally, I have suggested some recommendations for the issues that I have mentioned above. In reference to the first issue, it will be profitable for the company to change to level monthly production.
If there is one place in Naples that I never get tired of going to, and where I can have fun just by basking in the ambiance of its atmosphere, it’s the authentic Mexican restaurant, Cilantro Tamales. At first glance the restaurant seems to be in an inconspicuous spot, lying in a strip mall containing a no-name music store and consignment shop. However, despite the location, Cilantro Tamales stands out from all other restaurants or gathering places.
To most consumers Whole Foods is known as a chain grocery store specializing in organic and natural foods. Some may go as far as say the name is synonymous with quality. This comparison is the result of Whole Foods’ marketing their brand successfully to consumers demanding their specialized foods. As with any organization, Whole Foods may consider evaluating their strategic objectives and decide if necessary course corrections are needed to reach their objectives and goals. Through a fundamental and technical analysis, I will discuss Whole Foods’ mission, vision, and goals, their competitive environment, and some factors within their strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis. With such data and information I will recommend, if needed, and strategic changes in order to sustain a competitive advantage.
Demand for Panera franchising opportunities was very high, which allowed Panera to be picky about where and with whom they would do business. Panera determined where bakery-café locations could be. The franchisees bore the cost of opening new locations, and were required to obtain their ingredients from the home company. Expansion using the franchise model provided many upside benefits for Panera, while limiting the downside r...
They are missing out on opportunities that exist externally. It is time for the mindset of the company to evolve and understand that not all great ideas will be developed internally. In order to jump back to being the leading pharmaceutical company, they will have to open their doors to external pharmaceutical innovation.
Strengths: Teva had a strong customer base because of its presence in 50 countries globally and had acquired 14 very competent companies. The company had a reputation of world’s #1 generic drug company with substantial market share. The company’s portfolio was really strong with about 1300 molecules in generic drugs and had the patent of bloc...
The most feasible way to plan ahead is by conducting a SWOT analysis. The analysis consists of determining what is or not working, how to make the farm more profitable, what activities to add to ensure more community participation, and how to attract daily visitors. The following paragraphs will capture key internal strengths and weaknesses and detail external threats and opportunities of Zenda Farms.
The Board of Directors unanimously voted for the immediate construction of a new state of the art facility to meet the increased demands. Unfortunately, the construction of the new facility will take three years to be completed. Jim Elliot recognizes this gap and believes that the three year gap will be too long and suggests developing short range solution while the facility is under construction.
The location is one of the most critical factors to analyze thoroughly because it helps predict whether the sales of the choosing location will be good or not? Although the Boiling Crab is in the growth stage, it still has to focus on new locations that the owner plan to extend to these areas. As I mentioned in the introduction, the owner plans to open the Boiling Crab in four new locations soon.
A detailed analysis should be made on performance of 13 distribution centers – capacity, inventory turnover, costs etc. It appears most of the centers should be closed as they serve as excessive link in the supply chain, accumulating high inventory levels.