Case_Study_Stage_1

Case Study, Stage 1: Business Environment Analysis Perform a detailed Porter's Five Forces analysis for your Hometown Deli, addressing each force in one or two sentences and defining the force, its impact on the Deli and your strategy or strategies for dealing with it.   • Since the customers have a wide array of options to select from The Hometown Deli's buyer power is high. Offering some type of loyalty customer rewards would help to lower the force. Also a coupon punch card may be a good idea as well. • The supplier power is low; as there are a great number of suppliers that offer various deliveries options and also have the capability due to having internet access and have multiple deliveries options to choose from which will allow for best value and price. • The threat of substitute products or services is high. There is a variety of competition present because the access difficulty in this market is low and does not require a lot of familiarity. Providing some type of unique service unlike the competition will help reduce the threat. • The threat of new entrants is high, as new businesses start flocking to the area. The good news for The Hometown Deli is that the new businesses will not have the same advantage as Hometown which is their deep roots in the community. • Among current competition deli industry is high. Possibly using the switch cost methods would help reduce the rival power. Putting unique services that are only offered at The Hometown Deli would help with staying one step ahead of the competition. Determine which of Porter's Three Generic strategies (see textbook) you will use as you rebuild your Hometown Deli for the 21st century and explain why you selected it. Cost Leadership Strategy. By using this strategy this will allow The Hometown Deli to target a broader market which will allow the deli to keep their prices lower and allowing them to remain profitable for a longer period of time. Differentiation Strategy. In order for The Hometown Deli to remain one step ahead of the competition they will need to offer some unique services that are not offered by their competitor. This unique service has to be something that the customers value and consider better than what the competitors have to offer Focus Strategy. Lastly, I will apply the Focus Strategy which seems to offer a higher degree of customer loyalty which will also in turn stabilize the deli's relationship with the customer therefore making it harder for the competitor to compete. Using your analysis, identify a strategic area for improving the business and briefly explain your choice. A good strategic plan for the deli to gain a viable advantage would be to collect, examine and disseminate information to help improve the deli business. Introducing computer automation will allow the deli process to be more efficient. Within the selected strategic area, identify a process that could be improved with the use of technology. (In Stage 2 you will propose the technology solution to improve the process you identify here.) Introducing a internet hotspot would be a great process to start with. This process would allow the customer to come into the deli and sit and enjoy they're meal and connect to the internet if they wanted to.