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This brief provides an insight into the key strategy in winning more revenue for Core Logic and aligning it to become one of the next global firms in its category. This is through narrowing down on three of the most realistic and viable strategic options for the company with emphasis placed on creating a lifelong solution to the prominent issue of the influence of competitors in the market. From the three options, it is key to identify the most appropriate one as focus on all of them at the same time will split resources and attention and this is a precursor of failure in strategy implementation. Therefore, the fundamental emphasis will be in perfecting the best strategy to ensure that it works against all the odds in achieving the company's goals. The three Game-Winning Moves I considered are in rank order:

1. Geographic expansion is the primary means that would best suit Core Logic's ambitions of becoming more successful and productive than it is at the moment. Presently, the company mainly operates in the US and Australia, where the bulk of the clients are in Real Estate. These markets are saturated especially in Australia, where individuals are taking longer than before to release their houses for sale (Kusher, 2019). This is a bad sign for real estate agents, especially those who broker the transfer of ownership. Core Logic operations are heavily reliant in this area. An emerging market is the African continent where there is massive potential for real Estate ("Billions poised for Africa's real estate sector | Africanews", 2012). Core Logic should consider venturing into this market and establishing its roots in countries such as South Africa where growth has been promising over the recent years.

2. Vertical integration is also a game-winning move that would aid Core Logic's cause of increasing productivity. Presently, the firm works on the provision of investment advice through conducting thorough research on the market. Data analytics is a key instrument in Core Logic's operations. The firm, therefore, has immense volumes of data as well as expertise in the undertakings of industries such as real estate. Therefore, instead of providing real estate advice to clients, the firm can choose to be directly involved in house development, especially in areas where research indicates that investment is highly viable. Vertical integration would be key in ensuring that the company reaps from the advice that it provides to clients who end up making massive profits.

3. Forming mergers with competitors is also a means of ensuring that their influence in neutralized and Core Logic makes more from the market. Among the potential partners in case, Core Logic decides to get into a merger is Dun & Bradstreet which recently became a private company following its merger with three other firms ("Dun & Bradstreet to go private for $5.38 billion", 2018). Dun & Bradstreet is a direct competitor, and therefore having it onboard is a significant means of lowering its influence on the market. It also has a notable market share which would largely benefit Core Logic in the case of a merger. Other potential partners include Transunion and Verisk Analytics. However, while this move is among the most suited for Core Logic, it is potentially risky as it involves an immense capital outlay to implement in compensating the shareholders and many other processes. It would also require intense deliberations of the partners, and the talks might drag for long, especially if there are hitches in the discussion.

Recommendation

Developing a strategy can be a confusing activity, and this is because of the wide range of options that are generated during the brainstorming stage. However, following narrowing down on a particular one which in this case is geographical expansion, implementation is easier. The median age of Africans is projected to be at 25.4 years by 2050, according to World Bank ("Pwc.co.za", 2015). This means that the continent will be least affected by the imminent domination of an ageing population that is set to encounter other continents. With a young population, the demand for housing is set to soar with emphasis on students and residential buildings ("Pwc.co.za", 2015). It is therefore viable for Core Logic to invest in the continent as the cash flows that are expected to stem up from this expansion are attractive and dependable in the long run. The profitability of Core Logic largely depends on clients’ engagements. With the geographical expansion, more customers will be brought on board, and therefore there is potential for incremental profit.

Alignment and Investments

Core Logic has a reputation of being one of the best companies in the provision of real estate advice to its clients. The move of venturing into the African real estate market is one that aligns with its key strength of operating well as a multinational company with its success in Australia and the US proving this assertion. However, this move would require immense financial investment in setting up the infrastructure and hiring of employees. This is not expected to be a key impediment to the company as the costs of operations of businesses in Africa are relatively lower as compared to other continents where Core Logic is based. The major challenges, in this case, is infrastructural development in the continent which is below par when compared to other continents ("Addressing Africa's Infrastructure Challenges", 2020). With Africa being considered as a key area of development in the coming years, infrastructural expansion is necessary, and companies are required to invest more in this area to increase their chances of succeeding. For Core Logic, this is a key area where financial investment will be highly necessary to facilitate its operations.

Risks and Competitive Response

Risks are inevitable in any strategy implementation process, and the case of geographical expansion of Core Logic to Africa is not expected to be any different from that of other firms. Fundamentally, there is a risk of slow reception by potential customers. Also, there is the risk of the cost of implementation, especially in the case of developing infrastructure and employing workers being higher than the projected profits. Such risks are probable, and the key means of overcoming them lies in early planning. For example, adequate research is required to ensure that the company is are of the availability of the skilled workforce in the continent. This will be essential in determining whether it is imperative to work with the local individuals, which is a cheap option or outsourcing employees from abroad. Also, analyzing the strategies of other successful foreign companies in the same scope of operations as Core Logic is critical in determining the perfect means of overcoming the poor infrastructure development challenge. Competitors could also copy the strategy and move faster than Core Logic. This means that the company ought to move with speed and build an unmatchable reputation with the clients before the entry of competitors.

Conclusion

Core Logic is presently a highly ranked firm in the provision of advisory services with the support of data analytics, especially in the Real Estate sector. However, staying competitive is a key thing that the company cannot afford to ignore especially in the market that is getting flooded by competitors and accompanied by a shrinkage of the number of clients. This calls for undertaking a different strategy quickly before competitors react. There is a variety of strategies, but the most viable is that of geographical expansion into a new market. Africa is the present untapped arena where Core Logic would enjoy immense success if the process is performed perfectly. This move should be accompanied by financial support to enhance the employment of staff and infrastructural development. Risks are probable as it is in many such projects, and one of them is the escalation of the labor costs together with the underdevelopment of infrastructure. However, researching the cost of labor, availability of the required skilled human resources and the mode of operations of companies similar to Core Logic is fundamental in overcoming these risks. This move is necessary and should be fruitful and therefore supporting it with the necessary research, and financial investment is a process that cannot be ignored. The risk of competitors means that a swift course of action is imperative and therefore availing of the necessary resources should be a key priority of the company.

References

Billions poised for Africa's real estate sector | Africanews. Africanews. (2012). Retrieved 30 May 2020, from https://www.africanews.com/2019/08/07/billions-poised-for-africas-real-estate-sector//.

Addressing Africa's Infrastructure Challenges. Www2.deloitte.com. (2020). Retrieved 30 May 2020, from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Energy-and-Resources/dttl-er-africasinfrastructure-08082013.pdf.

Dun & Bradstreet to go private for $5.38 billion. CNBC. (2018). Retrieved 30 May 2020, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/09/dun--bradstreet-to-go-private-for-5point38-billion.html.

Kusher, C. (2019). Length Of Home Ownership Continues To Rise. Corelogic.com.au. Retrieved 30 May 2020, from https://www.corelogic.com.au/news/length-home-ownership-continues-rise.

Pwc.co.za. (2015). Real Estate Building the future of Africa. Retrieved 30 May 2020, from https://www.pwc.co.za/en/assets/pdf/real-building-the-future-of-africa-brochure-2-mar-2015.pdf.