INTEGRATED SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

In the present competitive business age everybody wish to choose a system that suits his business processes. Integrated systems are the systems that help in integrating key business and management functions. They provide a high-level view of all the activities that are going on in the business. In the earlier days, data used to be collected from different nodes and then compiled in the form of a summary report. All these processes were too time consuming. Presently the software does this compilation or integration work. There are many packages that integrate the activities of different business divisions and thus allow the businesses to devote more time on productive things. However there are different needs of different business and one should be careful in deciding about software that would be useful to him. Any company looks for these packages to integrate its corporate functions like finance, manufacturing and human resources. This is a critical activity. As a budding manager you should be able to understand the system requirement of your company. You should be able to define the information flow, information requirements and information usage so that you gain competitive edge. 

Literal meaning of “Integration” is combination or amalgamation. In terms of computer terminology, “Integration” is a broad term for any software that serves to join together or act as a go-between between two separate and usually already existing applications.  Integrated software applications for business gives you the ability to integrate the diverse information sources pertaining to your business into a single framework. This integrated information can then be shared by applications such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) systems. 

READ MORE >>

READ MORE...

PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION

The meaning of the word diversification is very simple. As soon as a manufacturer offers more than one product, it is described as product diversification.  Diversification implies that a company has moved from one product item to marketing more than one product. Generally, diversification is categorised into two types:

1. Related Diversification and

2. Unrelated Diversification.  

Where the new products introduced in the product mix are similar to the existing product, diversification is described as 'related'. When a company accepts new products which are very different from the existing products, the diversification is said to be ‘unrelated'.

READ MORE >>

READ MORE...

EXPANSION STRATEGIES

EXPANSION STRATEGIES

 

Every enterprise seeks growth as its long-term goal to avoid annihilation in a relentless and ruthless competitive environment. Growth offers ample opportunities to everyone in the organization and is crucial for the survival of the enterprise. However, this is possible only when fundamental conditions of expansion have been met. Expansion strategies are designed to allow enterprises to maintain their competitive position in rapidly growing national and international markets. Hence to successfully compete, survive and flourish, an enterprise has to pursue an expansion strategy. Expansion strategy is an important strategic option, which enterprises follow to fulfil their long-term growth objectives. They pursue it to gain significant growth as opposed to incremental growth envisaged in stability strategy. Expansion strategy is adopted to accelerate the rate of growth of sales, profits and market share faster by entering new markets, acquiring new resources, developing new technologies and creating new managerial capabilities. 

 

Expansion strategy provides a blueprint for business enterprises to achieve their long term growth objectives. It allows them to maintain their competitive advantage even in the advanced stages of product and market evolution. Growth offers economies of scale and scope to an organization, which reduce operating costs and improve earnings. Apart from these advantages the organization gains a greater control over the immediate environment because of its size. This influence is crucial for survival in mature markets where competitors aggressively defend their market shares.
 

Conditions for Opting for Expansion Strategy 

READ MORE >>

READ MORE...

DIFFERENTIATION

DIFFERENTIATION

CONCEPT OF DIFFERENTIATION :

Every individual customer is unique in itself so is his/her preferences regarding tastes, preferences, attitudes, etc. These needs of the customers are fulfilled by the firms by producing differentiated products. In our day-to-day life we see many such examples of differentiated products. Most of the fast moving consumer goods like; biscuits, soaps, toothpastes, oils, etc. come under the category of differentiated products. To satisfy the diverse needs of the customers, it becomes essential for the firms to adopt a differentiation strategy. To make this strategy successful, it is necessary for the firms to do extensive research to study the different needs of the customers. A firm is able to differentiate from its competitors if it is able to position itself uniquely at something that is valuable to buyers. Differentiation can lead to Differential advantage in which the firm gets the premium in the market, which is more than the cost of providing differentiation. The extent to which the differentiation occurs depends on the overall strategy of the firm. Previously differentiation was viewed narrowly by the firms, but in the present scenario it has become one of the essential components of the firm’s strategy. Reliance Infocomm, offers varied products like; different facilities to its customers in the CDMA telephones. This is differentiation. 
 

When we talk of differentiation, it can be said that virtually any product can be differentiated (Sadler, 2004). The greatest potential of differentiation lies in products, which are of complex nature but do not have to adhere to strict regulatory standards, but the success of a differentiation strategy depends on the firm’s commitment towards customers and the understanding of customer needs as differentiation is all about perceiving on the part of the customer of something unique. Differentiation can be said to have more competitive advantage than the cost advantage as it is quite difficult to imitate the differentiated products. Even if the initiation is done in terms of concept, then also a particular product remains unique regarding its value, style, packaging, etc. Therefore, when we talk about differentiation, it is important to understand the demand of the customers and fulfilling this demand keeping in mind the differentiation advantage. In this case, one thing the firms should concentrate on its creativity and innovativeness than on market research. We have discussed about the concept of differentiation as a whole but we need to know the why aspect of differentiation, i.e., why do the firms need differentiation? 
 

READ MORE >>

READ MORE...