Management- Business Decision Making
Transport is one of the most important and fastest growing sectors of the world. It has evolved as an industry and today there are many players whom all provide some manner of specialized service to their customers. As the market has grown the technology has also advanced and today you find that not just heavy commodities like wood, timber and steel are getting transported but also perishable items like seafood and vegetables get transported for long distances due to the availability of long distance refrigerated vehicles. In the light of this, the transport industry has been made the focus for this paper. A company that has been chosen is Shipley Transport Company.
Shipley Transport Company was established in West Yorkshire in the year 1980, and it is a family owned business. With very modest beginnings the company expanded into one of the largest haulage companies in the country. They procured an international license and during the 80s the company even managed to buy out other removal companies in the region. From domestic haulage, the company has soon diversified into general haulage and worldwide shipping. They then started building warehouses for storage in 1995 along with full dock level bays which has immensely helped in reducing the loading problems. By 1998 they had increased their transport capacity to almost 600 tonnes per week. Today the company has a fleet of over 40 vehicles and employs over 70 people. (Peppard, J., Ward, J. and Daniel, E., 2007)
The company provides a variety of services today ranging from pallet distribution to warehousing and handling of the goods. The company is also involved in shipping, contract distribution, and international removals as well as overseas relocation.
Identification of Business problem
For Shipley Transport Company, the one problem at this point of time is related to the creation of a positive and reliable brand image so that they can create a standing in the industry for their name and thus attract more clients and customers. It is important to note at this point of time that since the company was established as recently as in 1980s then it is very new and still in the initial phase, in the business. At such a juncture, a positive brand image would be useful and would prove to be extremely beneficial because it would prompt the company to strengthen its roots. It would also be helpful in successful implementation of the company’s future expansion plans.
A brand image is usually defined as the impression that the company has made in the consumer’s mind which prompts them to avail of the services provided by the business. A positive brand image can also be translated into monetary gains since it helps in making consumers come back for services and thus increases the revenue and the profits. From the aspect of non – physical benefits, the gains brand image is crucial for creating trust among the consumers. Thus, one can see that it is important for Shipley Transport Company to work on its brand image and apply strategies that would help in promoting the brand and making people aware of the existence of the business and that it provides a specific set of services.
Plan to collect primary and secondary data
Since the nature of this problem is qualitative, it would be useful to collect primary data in the form of interviews and telephonic or face to face interviews. The objective of collecting this data would be to create an effective branding strategy.
Next, to collect the secondary data, reports and campaigns of similar strategies and campaigns can be collected from journals and online sources and studied so as to the business the perspective and requirements of the business for implementation of such a campaign. (Borzo, J. and McCauley, D. ed., 2005)
Survey methodology and sampling frame
For the collection of primary data, interview method would be most suitable since that would allow scope for discussion and interaction. To make the interview successful it would be the best option to make use of a structured interview format. For this, a concrete set of questions needs to be formed so that the responses from all the interviews can be compared as per a standardized scale. The sample for the second phase of the data collection should include ten companies. The criteria for sample selection would be to choose companies that are not existing clients of Shipley, but which operate in the same area from which Shipley’s clients are. This would give a general platform for understanding the requirements of future or prospective clients.
Collection of data
The data was collected, and the responses were quantified by bringing them to the same scale. The general outlay of the questions that were asked for this purpose was focused on what values a business should portray to appear as reliable and trustworthy to the clients. Responses were also asked on the topic of social responsibility for which the answers were that they need to know that the company is aware of and fulfills its corporate social responsibility. By this, clients feel that the company has humanistic values and that it also cares about the environment. (Capgemini, 2007)
This is the data that was collected from ten prospective clients based on the structured questionnaire:
The responses have been represented in the following chart:
Data collected from secondary sources revealed that the selection of media for the branding strategy is also crucial since it helps in targeting the right audience and reaching out to them.
Analyzing results
The results reveal that clients want to hire a company that is reliable and trustworthy which means they want a transport service that can take care of their goods while they are in transit and pay attention that goods are not damaged. Also they want companies that are cost efficient and which give value for money. The infrastructure of the business is less of a consideration and is brought into question only when the clients are sure that the company is reliable. In most cases, the answers revealed that if the company can deliver value and make the delivery of the goods on time and without damage then the infrastructure is not brought into question. (Kielstra, P. and McCauley, D. ed., 2007)
The secondary data collected from online journals and campaign details of companies provided valuable insight into the selection of the correct mode for information of the branding strategy. From this, it can be interpreted that campaigning on TV or radio would not produce many results. Instead, the company should focus on online media where it can attract the attention of the industry and specific consumers that fall in the targeted audience category. The company personnel indicated that the budget is a constraint for them in which case online media would be an appropriate alternative since it does not require a hefty investment.
Measures of dispersion
Application of statistical tools like measures of dispersion revealed the following results:
This application of measures of dispersion has revealed that companies that could become prospective clients of Shipley have almost the same opinion about the company values. This analysis will be very useful in designing an appropriate brand management campaign. The data shows that the highest priority has been given to delivering results, and lowest priority has been given to infrastructure and social responsibility. This shows that clients are more concerned about the quality of service rather than other things related to the business. (Davenport, T. H., 2006)
The standard deviation shows that, with respect to the responses about reliability of the company, the clients have the same opinion. This can be interpreted from the low degree of disparity and variation. Again, infrastructure and social responsibility show the highest level of variations that reveal that clients do not have the same view on these business values.
Bibliography:
Peppard, J., Ward, J. and Daniel, E. (2007), Managing the realization of business benefits from IT investments, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 6, No. 1, March.
Kielstra, P. and McCauley, D. ed. (2007), In search of clarity: unravelling the complexities of executive Decision-Making, The Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by Business Objects.
Grabski, S., Leech, S. and Sangster, A. (due to be published 2009); Management Accounting in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, Executive Summary, CIMA sponsored research.
Hayes, J., Adams, B. and McMillan, I. (2007), Finance strategy: delivering the partnering role, IBM Global Business Services.
Borzo, J. and McCauley, D. ed. (2005), Business 2010: embracing the challenge of change, The Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by SAP.
Capgemini (2007), Business intelligence to become leading business priority according to Capgemini survey at Microsoft business intelligence conference, Press release, 15 May 2007.
Davenport, T. H. (2006), Competing on analytics, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, Issue 1, January, pp98-107.
