Mba 502

Strategy Assignment

University of Phoenix

MBA 502 Ð'- Week 6

donald roach

January 8, 2008

Strategy Assignment

Assess how changes in technology have created business opportunities for Kudler.

Kudler Fine Foods is an upscale gourmet food grocery center with just three locations. Kudler Fine Foods is committed to providing its customers with the finest selection of the very best foods and wines. Kudler Fine Foods has enjoyed successful growth by standing behind this commitment, but would now like to expand its services, and improve the efficiency of its operation (University of Phoenix, 2006). When identifying certain products care should be taken into consideration realizing that exist different levels of quality. Merchants should be chosen extremely carefully. Kudler Fine Foods has to decipher how they could use new technology to advance their business. Many factors must be considered reaching the outcome. The following are questions that Kudler Fine Foods should consider: How can new technology create business opportunities? Which strategies to use? How to incorporate new technological strategies into current business values? Recently, many competitors have restructured their organizations to foster new technology. These changes have reduced error rates, more rapidly turn-around on customer orders, established new time lines for marketing of new products, and increased overall business performance. In order to implement change the companies use personal computers, laptops, new computer software and other electronic and wireless communications devices. This requires flexible market strategies that are developed based on analysis of current internal and external forces affecting the company. "Proper analysis and implementation will provide a successful strategy resulting in a sustainable competitive advantage" (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 2002). A future growth opportunity could exist as Kudler Fine Foods implements newer technology to reach its customers.

With the help of current technology Kudler Fine Foods can create a virtual world for customers and still maintain a high level of customized customer service, increased performance and ultimately an increased profit margin.

Technology is constantly evolving many business manage to maintain a certain standard to keep in tune with these changes while others struggle to stay current with technology. Competition and technology are synonymous usually the innovative businesses will far exceed their competitors. Kudler Fine Foods is considered to be a small business specializing in fine foods. Their target market is upscale customers in high-end areas. To fulfill this target, the use of technology is a major asset. Having an area to store data for these services is warranted. Invoices, records, sales customer data base, and inventory; just to name a few, are an abundance of manual operations and heavy usage of paper. The use of technology creates an easy access, easy storage system enabling firms to be more effective. Technology increases profitability, and reliance. If one can imagine, being without a computer, cell phone or any electronic gadget. This is what technology does for a business. Maintaining an orderly storage system and archiving every transaction for future retrieval, investigative purposes, tax purposes and forecasting are all essential business tools. An advanced technical system can create convenience, choice, and control; not only for the customers but for the overall functionality of a business. Product information and company data are stored on an internal server for data redundancy and emergency backup.

To serve their customers even better, Kudler Fine Foods has implemented an internet website to expand their business. Although this is an excellent idea, their current website is lacking in several areas. Our team of computer software engineers will examine Kudler's webpage to determine the strengths and weaknesses.

The implementation of the proposed new website will create a new intriguing look to attract new potential customers and encourage existing customers to venture into cyberspace. An world of opportunities is waiting for Kudler Fine Foods on the internet. Kudler Fine Foods is evaluating their current network and creating a logical design document that will show what needs to be done to upgrade or install a new network system to meet the goals set out to achieve.

The list of goals presented by Kudler Fine Foods management is- 1. Faster Checkout Response 2.Collect Customer Data 3. Track Customer Data and Purchases 4. Upgrade security on Internet via site key implementation to secure customers' personal data 5.Upgrade of Current Network.

Upgrading and adapting to changes in technology will help Kudler Fine Foods to create various new business opportunities. The establishment of a strategic information system plan can also assist Kudler Fine Foods in the way it handles future business operations and endeavors.

Identify the generic strategy you think Kudler is pursuing. Why do you think this?

"The purpose of identifying competitive forces is to enable an organization to develop a strategy aimed at establishing a profitable and sustainable position against these five forces. To do so, a company needs to develop a strategy of performing activities differently from its competitors." (UoP, 2007)

Porter proposed three response strategies to competitive forces: cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy and focus strategy. Over the years, Porter and others have added to the list of response strategies. The major extensions are: growth strategy, alliances strategy, innovation strategy, internal efficiency strategy and customer-oriented strategy. These strategies may be interrelated. For example, some innovations are achieved through alliances that reduce cost and increase growth. Cost leadership improves customer satisfaction and may lead to growth.

Kudler Fine Foods is using a combination of generic strategies to accomplish with the company goals. Kudler Fine Foods is using the differentiation strategy to be unique in the industry of fine foods in California area. Kudler Fine Foods is using the focus strategy on the Frequent Shopper Program to track purchases behavior of the customers and provide a high value incentive through a partnership with a loyalty points program. Kudler Fine Foods is decided to use the growth strategy selling more products using e-commerce to strengthen the company and