Business Strategy Of Kudler Fine Foods

Business strategy of Kudler Fine Foods

MBA 502

University of Phoenix Online

Business strategy of Kudler Fine Foods

Businesses are often preoccupied with the day to day operations of the organization that they lose perspective of the company's goals. Developing a sound strategic plan gives the company a direction for the present and future. The Kudler Company would need to choose a strategy that that is compatible to the company's size, mission and values. The company strategies will need to be flexible to accommodate changes in the market place. Such changes can come from many different forces such as technology, external and internal factors. The Kudler Company also needs to develop specific tactics that help accomplish their goals. Finally the company would need to continually scan the market and see how the company is progressing. Scanning the market would also help the company identify problems and changes that may need to be made.

Pursuing focus strategy

Kudler's is perusing a focus strategy by selecting a narrow-scope segment or niche market in attempts to achieve differentiation strategy, being unique in the industry. This concept is discussed in the Kudler's web site Internet page. It quotes that Kathy was "Passionate about gourmet cooking and frustrated at having to travel all over town to gather the ingredients for one simple meal, Kathy Kudler decided to open her own gourmet food shop. Her vision was to create one store that would stock a wide selection of the freshest ingredients as well as all of the tools a gourmet cook could ever want. Kathy was certain that combining the convenience of one-stop shopping with reasonable prices would be a recipe for success (Kudler Fine Foods, 2006)." The key is that Kathy could not find an organization that housed the ingredients for gourmet cooking. Using the focus strategy allows the Kudler's Company to focus in the fine foods and develop customer loyalty with those who share Kathy's culinary desires.

Tactics to implement focus strategy

Some of the tactics that the Kudler Fine Food organization is implementing for their focus strategies includes:

* Growth strategy - Kudler's is in the process of developing and promoting the Internet website. The customers would be able to view the products available, make comments or suggestions and order online. Other growth strategy includes the use of radio, newspaper and television advertising. Another growth strategy would include sponsorships of local events also charity events. These methods increase the community's awareness of Kudler Fine Foods.

* Alliances Strategy - Kudler's is contracting with local organic growers. This accomplishes two goals for focus strategy; to reduce costs through contracted vendors and continues to enrich the position of specialty fine 'healthy' foods.

* Innovation Strategy - Some of the innovation strategies that Kudler is implementing is by offering in store parties that helps the customers prepare their own culinary pleasures using the specialty foods. The cooking class draws in customers by teaching the culinary arts form world-renowned chiefs, local celebrities and local food experts. Other area of innovation strategy includes the frequent buyer program and the addition of catering services.

* Customer-Oriented Strategy - Kudler realizes that the customer is King or Queen. The company has customer service as their number one priority. They have the employees train with computer classes and programs to increase their customer awareness. Kathy is interested in benchmarking Nordstrom's customer service because of their leadership in this area.

The Kudler Company is using these tactics to increase their position in the market place and profitability by enhancing the value of their products and targeting the customer. This will take effort and resources from the company but the benefits will continue to allow the company to strengthen and expand.

Scanning the market to update focus strategy

Market research and development help a company to grow and develop. Scanning the market will allow Kudler's to monitor the effectiveness of their strategic planning. They can do this by continue to study the market size and opportunities. This will help them to understand and be aware the forces of competition and the market in general. They will also need to scan the market for food trends. Customer's needs and desires are always in a changing state. Kudler's will need to be aware of the changes and adjust their stores to meet the wishes of the customer. Scanning the market can also give Kudler's signals of upcoming changes. Quick response to the changes will help the company remain at the top of their market.

Technology changes create business opportunities

The changes in technology create business opportunities for many in many different ways. Some of the technological advances would help Kudler's Fine Foods gain a competitive advantage through the supply chain, payment systems and food safety in hygiene monitoring.

The effective management of the supply chain would aid the company's cost and distribution of the products. New technological advances in tracking and monitoring of inventory have come with Radio Frequency Identification, RFID. This allows the products to be identified rapidly also the location relative to the delivery point. RFID chips are placed in the product packaging by the case and by the pallet. Electronic product codes (EPC) identify the product and amount. This speeds up the shipping and distribution of products. At the time of delivery, the RFID chips are scanned identifying their arrival and the bill is handled electronically. Hardware and software need to be in place to implement this process along with testing and validation (Alling, 2004).

Consumers are always attentive to new payment systems. Paper checks allowed customers to carry little cash while maintaining their purchasing power. The economy evolved into the use of debit and credit cards to reduce the need of handwriting checks. There is a new technological advance that will allow the consumer another mode of payment, also referred to as the next-gen payment systems. The technology would allow the consumer to handle payments in a secure manner with out the use of physical credit cards, cash or checks. One system takes advantage of the popular mobile phone, PayWi. The

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