Strategic GrowthAs outlined in this week’s lecture notes, there are seven common game-winning moves that can be leveraged to differentiate and strengthen competitive positioning. They include: Geographic Expansion, New Price Tiers, Vertical Integration, Moving Into Adjacent Product Segments, New Distribution Channels, Discontinuous Innovation, and Mergers & Acquisitions.

• Identify an organization in your industry (but not the company you selected for your course project) that used one of the seven common winning moves.
• Which move did they use and why do you think they elected to use this move?
• How effective was this move in establishing meaningful differentiation? Support your response with references to this week’s materials including Chapter 9 from Sherman.

Post your initial response by Wednesday, midnight of your time zone, and reply to at least 2 of your classmates’ initial posts by Sunday, midnight of your time zone.​

1st person to respond to

Xiaodong Zhu

Hello Dr. G and Class:

Identify an organization in your industry (but not the company you selected for your course project) that used one of the seven common winning moves.

I choose one of our competitors, Yudo Co., a significant Hot Runner Asia market player (1).

Which move did they use and why do you think they elected to use this move?

2nd person to respond to

Chad

Hello Dr. G. and Class,

Identify an organization in your industry (but not the company you selected for your course project) that used one of the seven common winning moves.

This week’s lecture notes teach us that one way to leverage up on the competition is through Mergers, Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances (JWI, 1).  This can be a good way to change the playing field when an industry is crowded (1).  I work in the pipeline inspection industry and it is a very mature and crowded market with some technologies in existence for close to thirty years.  One of our competitors, NDT Global, executed this move in 2020 by acquiring an innovative Norwegian inspection company called Halfwave (NDT, 2).  This was a very smart strategic move as it allowed NDT to now compete in the pipeline crack detection market and provide access to a whole new suite of pipeline inspection technologies (2).

Which move did they use and why do you think they elected to use this move?

This merger and acquisition was a real-time way for both companies to benefit from economies of scale and the ability to pool resources together (JWI, 1).  Efficiencies are also present, as it allows each company to leverage existing Master Service Agreements with companies, expediting the ability to do work.  That is a major benefit in our industry, as it can sometimes take months or years to get set up to be able to work for a major energy company.  A merger such as this allows each division to explore what current relationships are set up, and how they can cross-pollinate by sharing technology, resources, and contracts to get in the doors with companies quicker.  This was a significant pathway to market leadership as each company gained expertise, intelligence, technology, and insight into each other’s market while benefitting from existing business relationships (JWI, 1).

How effective was this move in establishing meaningful differentiation? Support your response with references to this week’s materials including Chapter 9 from Sherman.

In this week’s readings, Sherman emphasizes that understanding consumers’ perceptions is critical to uncovering opportunities, meeting unmet needs, and creating meaningful differentiation through product offerings (3).  NDT’s merger with Halfwave was effective in establishing meaningful differentiation because it was a way for the two companies to come together to address customers’ needs of having more access to non-destructive pipeline inspection technologies.  The merger allowed NDT to offer its existing customer base new technologies under a familiar existing business relationship, essentially using product positioning to understand consumer perceptions (Sherman, 3).  The merger provided immediate access to new inspection products and services that are recognized by consumers (Sherman, 3).  It also allowed the company to now provide discounts and other pricing methodologies to existing clients due to the fact that they now have more technology options available providing more opportunities to do business with clients.  It is a way to attract “nonconsumers”, or existing clients who weren’t fully served these inspection options prior and create a new base of consumer appeal (Sherman, 3).

Regards,

Chad

Source List:

1. JWI 540.  2022.  Week Six Lecture Notes.
2. NDT Global.  2020.  NDT Global Welcomes Halfwave and Their ART Technology.  https://www.ndt-global.com/resources/news/ndt-global-welcomes-halfwave-and-their-art-technology/
3. Leonard Sherman.  2017.  If You’re in a Dogfight, Become a Cat!

I choose the seventh move of Mergers & Acquisitions. I propose Yudo acquire MHS(Mold Hotrunner Solutions) to achieve geographic expansion to North America. MHS is a Hot Runner supplier that delivers high-performance Hot Runner systems based in Canada, having customer and service networks across North America (2).

How effective was this move in establishing meaningful differentiation? Support your response with references to this week’s materials including Chapter 9 from Sherman.

Long term, the Hot runner customer defines three categories based on the price and performance of the Hot Runner product (3). The defined industry rule for the hot runner industry is premium hot runner supplier with better quality and higher price, medium Hot runner supplier with good quality and medium price.

Since the industry norms of the hot runner industry are that MHS is a premium product supplier and Yudo is a medium product supplier, the customer will assume that higher performance will need a higher price (4).

This move will help Yudo improve its efficiency and increase its revenue and global market share.

• After the M&A, Yudo can access MHS’s North America market and customer and service network.
• Yudo will have access to MHS’s supply chain and negotiate a better deal with suppliers, distributors, and diversified sources.
• After the M&A, MHS can share the standard component and utilize Yudo’s part to reduce the cost of the MHS product line. MHS can provide further discounts to generate more sales volumes or increase the profit margin.
• Yudo will share MHS’s technology and use it on Yudo’s existing product. This addition will allow Yudo to boost the brand image, increase the sales price or grow the market share in Asia.

Thanks

Xiao

Ref:

1. About YUDO, http://www.yudo.com/about
2. About us, https://www.moldhotrunnersolutions.com/company.html
3. JWI540 Week Six Lecture Notes
4. Sherman, L. (2017). If You’re in a Dogfight, Become a Cat. Chapter 9: What Makes Products Meaningfully Different?