What is their business – Level Strategy? The business level strategy that Ben and Jerry Inc. Adopted was one of entering the Suppertime ice cream market, by creating a product that was targeted and had a high perceived value. Ben and Jerry Inc entered the industry in 1978, their not straddles nor where they an organization that had to reposition itself. There strategy was to introduce a product that was both unique and high quality, Ben and Jerry Inc was an organization that conducted and had a good mix of business level activities. They entered an industry that had low barriers to entry and low costumer switching costs.
There strategy was to cater to a targeted market of 25-40 year old individuals with a product that was of high quality and taste. The expected retaliation from the industry giant Hagen-Dads was considered as low. There strategy helped them gain a sustainable advantage over their rivals by having a product that uses no chemicals, working with suppliers that have the same beliefs and social responsibility as there company does. Ben and Jerry Inch’s strategy was to have a product that no other existing competitor had, the creation of Chunky ice-cream was a great strategy to differentiate them form the competition.
Access Ben and Jerry financial and market performance? Ben and Jerry had a great financial performance in the sass’s the company had grown by 100%. Their performance into an existing industry was great, they managed to enter an industry as a “mom and pop” organization and grow the company into a multi-million dollar organization. Ben and Jerry Inc offered a product at a premium price and catered to a market that can and would pay the premium for their ice ream.
Ben and Jerry Inc was an organization that consistently grew year over year, they had grown by 30 percent from 1988 to 1992. Furthermore during this grow phase they had managed to be a profitable company and share prices grew to a high of $31 . Ben and Jerry Inc came to a realization that they needed to have an experienced leader at the helm as the current leadership was not well equipped to manage and lead the organization into the future. This consequently led to decreased sales and profits that had a negative effect on the company both internally ND externally.
In my opinion Ben and Jerry Inc grew rapidly, therefore they should have been proactive and ensured that they had an effective board of director and CEO in place to help lead the organization. I feel that if Ben and Jerry had been pro- active that the company would not have seen the dismal sales result that it did in 1993. Does this strategy seem well matched to their external environment? The strategy that Ben and Jerry Inc took was well matched to their external environment; they took the opportunity to offer a product that the competition could not.
By choosing to perform activities that were different from the competition gave Ben and Jerry Inc a competitive advantage. By choosing certain local suppliers and organizations that where socially responsible as business partners and creating a distribution network that was vastly different than that of its competitors gave Ben and Jerry the ability to penetrate the market. However I do tell that by having such a distinguished network of suppliers and distributors held to organization back from their responsibility to the shareholders.
Profits could have been maximized if they where cognitive of the price they paid suppliers and distributors. Has their strategy led to a competitive advantage? I do believe that there strategy has led to a competitive advantage that is evident in the financial results the organization had leading up to 1992. By having a product that was unique by incorporating only all natural ingredients with rich taste and coupled with their social conscious approached led them to be perceived as a step above the competition. What are the major problems facing the organization?
The major problems that Ben and Jerry Inc is facing are decline in sales, their inability to establish a distribution network into foreign markets and local markets such as restaurants. They need to be proactive and develop a plan to grow the business by gaining additional market share that their competition is involved in. Conversely the organization has to refocus it energy on developing a product that is low in fat and healthier as the landscape of the market has changed since the inception of the company. The target market to now more aware of the health risks ND concussion of what they eat.
Ben and Jerry is also now faced with a pricing war with Hagen-Dads the industry giant is now using money from other businesses to reestablish there market dominance. Furthermore many of the investors are reluctant to invest into Ben and Jerry stock as the firm’s insistence of putting charity, peace, environment and social responsibility before the public stakeholders. I believe that Ben and Jerry needs focus on their core competencies of manufacturing suppertime ice cream not on marketing. They need to outsource marketing and remote the business via different media other than Just word of mouth.
Also with the introduction of a new CEO the organization faces a time of change to adapt to market pressure and industry changes. Stakeholders will be reluctant to invest and employees moral will be low as they do not know what the direction of the company is. As Holland, what would you do? As Holland I would first re-negotiate the contracts that are in place with existing suppliers and distributors, Ben and Jerry are currently paying a premium. I would then focus energy on opening the new plant for increased production levels.
Furthermore I would look at areas of how I can increase sales and profits, I would have a team focus on entering foreign markets on a global scale (Europe/Asia) and also focus on distribution into restaurants. I would work on increasing employee morale and perception of the organization, as it is currently at a low. I would also have the R;D department focus on healthier ways to manufacture ice cream and yogurt to satisfy the market needs. The landscape has changed customers are now want to have healthier treats at a reduced price.
