Question 1.
Loganville Window Treatments is an interior shutter maker that sells their product through decorating centres. Loganville Window Treatments makes 5 predetermined sizes and 6 different styles. They make bulk batches of 500-1000. These batches are stores in their warehouse and sold through catalogues in decorating houses. Competition from Chinese manufacturers capable of copying their designs and selling are cheaper rates and several decorating sources are attracted to lower rates.
Question 2.
The case is not related to each chapter in the book.
Question 3.
Loganville Window Treatments would need to change its mission as they will change its business model and would not need to use partnerships with decorating to reach the customers. Earlier the mission of the company would have been build relationships with the best decoration houses as they provided the company with an avenue to sell their products. With the upcoming change in the business model, the company would need to focus on its relationship with the customer as they are directly approaching and selling their interior shutters to them. Overall, the focus on and role of customers would increase as they will determine the fate of Loganville Window Treatments.
Question 4. a.
Chuck Keown is planning to change the business model of the company. Loganville Window Treatments is planning to sell their products directly to customers and taking out the decorating houses who work as the middle-man (Huang). Under the new business model, Loganville Window Treatments will not product batches in bulk and will produce shutters based on individual orders. The entry of Chinese companies who are capable of making exact copies of Loganville Window Treatments products at cheaper rates is attracting several decorating houses. In addition, Chinese manufacturers and their cheaper products have caused Loganville Window Treatments to lose business and unless a change is made in terms of prices, the company will keep losing customers.
Question 4. b.
The competitive advantage strategy of Loganville Window Treatments with the new business model would be based on their direct relationship with the customers that cannot be matched by Chinese manufacturers. Under the new business model, Loganville Window Treatments would sell their product through catalogue and the Internet and prepare each shutter based on customer needs. Chinese manufacturers would be selling in bulk and would not be able to match such personalized experience and customized product development. Finally, in terms of price, Loganville Window Treatments would be able to charge premium prices for their shutters as they have eliminated the middle-man in decoration houses that are the main source of order for Chinese manufacturers. Also, the company would be building better relationship with customers and providing after sales service, in case any of their shutters does not meet customer needs. Therefore, the new competitive strategy for Loganville Window Treatments would be to provide personalized service and customized product to customers and develop better after sales service helping the company to build better relationship with customers.
Question 5.
Some of the things that need to happen to ensure the proposed changes at Loganville Window Treatments take place are:
Internet Presence
Firstly, to enter the market and sell directly to customers, Loganville Window Treatments would need to develop an internet presence. Internet presence can be achieved either by partnering with an online website or launching their website. This will help customers to find them and order shutters. Without developing internet presence it would be impossible for Loganville Window Treatments to reach their target market.
Hire Marketing, Sales and Design Team
It is also very important to hire a marketing team that would help the company to reach their customers. This means Loganville Window Treatments would need to invest in wages and marketing budget on tools such as search engine optimization, social media presence, and other online marketing. A Sales team is needed that will work in trade shows and attempt to sell shutters to customers through their catalogues. A design team that was limited to producing 5 predetermined sizes and 6 different styles would need to visit customer houses and other locations to understand customer needs and design product as per their need.
Managing Pricing
Even though the middle-man has been removed from the business model by Loganville Window Treatments, they still need to compete in terms of pricing with decoration houses that are used to sell Chinese manufactured shutters (Kalb). Loganville Window Treatments would need to become price competitive along with their personalized approach to ensure they are able to price out decoration houses and their catalogues.
Better Customer Support
An essential part of dealing directly with customers is making sure they are able to get in touch with you, especially when they are unsatisfied with the final product. This would mean that Loganville Window Treatments would need to develop after sales service that ensures customer needs are satisfied by replacing or modifying the product sold.
Changes in Inventory Production
One of the essential aspects of Loganville Window Treatments was their bulk batch production that would be reduced to production on the basis of customer needs and orders. Loganville Window Treatments will now prepare smaller samples and the design team might need to prepare different designs that their earlier predetermined sizes and designs.
Works Cited
Huang., Ming-Hui. Eliminate the Middleman?. Harvard Business Review. hbr.org. March 2006. Web. 25 May 2016.
Kalb., Ira. Why It's So Hard For Some Companies To Cut Out 'The Middle Man'. Business Insider. businessinsider.com. 7 October 2013. Web. 25 May 2016.
