Strategic Management

Company Description and SWOT analysis

GRAFTON SPRING WATER

As reiterated in the link, the name of the company is Grafton Spring Water. Grafton is a unique name, but the spring water refers to the source of the water. Everyone knows that water from springs is usually clean and natural. The company wants to produce water that is safe for the population in Freetown and the surrounding environments. The objective of the company is to create a family value framework that uses water to save people from water-related illness. The non-alcoholic beverage products sold by the company include clean bottled water that is safe for consumption. The water will be sold at an affordable price to school children and other members residing in Sierra Leone.

Mission Statement

The Mission Statement for the company focuses on the provision of safe drinking water to the populations of Sierra Leone. It reads as “WE STRIVE TO BE A COMPANY THAT inspires AND fulfills YOUR THIRST WITH SMOOTH NATURAL PURIFIED DRINKING WATER TO THE PEOPLE OF SIERRA LEONE”. The statement is evidence that the company is trying its best to ensure that it provides the best water for its surrounding market.

Trends in the industry

The industry possesses a high level of competition due to the nature of diversification for the products that exist. Many players sell products such as water, juice, and soda. The industry also possesses a diverse range of customers with different needs and interests. The above factors are instrumental in affecting companies since their interests are high. The other beverages are highly competitive such that it becomes difficult for water to make a significant sale for a company such as Grafton Spring Water. Also, the availability of tapped water in most domestic environments is another major challenge for companies that distribute water.

People from the middle and low classes find it cheaper and affordable boiling and treating their water from home and using it in the learning and working environments (Torres, Augusto, & Lisboa, 2015). It is through the above that they can save a significant amount of resources. The situation makes it almost impossible for a company such as Grafton Spring Water to acquire a loan to expand its business in the country. The government may also increase the rates of taxes, a factor that may stagnate the sale of water. It is a challenging situation as many companies continue to enter the business. Small-medium enterprises are not doing well because of the above case.

Strategic position

Concerning strategic positioning, the company has to focus on identifying the most reliable possible solution to increasing sales and boosting revenues. This means that it needs to look into an unexploited sector. In Sierra Leone, it seems that purified water products production serves as a sector that has not been exploited fully. This is a plus for the company because it may expose its products to customers who yearn for a product that has not existed in the market. Also, the nature of water-related diseases is another reason for the company to do well in the market. The target market customers are those who need water the most because of their tight schedule.

Students, professionals, and the low class may pay for affordable purified water to quench their thirst and continue with their daily activities. Affordability creates easy access to products and creates flexibility at the same time when it comes to building the economy and meeting personal demands related to development. The company may also focus on large markets with millions of customers demanding purified water. It may utilize the internet to ensure that it creates a significant network of customers to purchase its water product.

Distribution

An Overview of the Company’s Distribution Channels

The distribution channel of the company comprises of independent investors and suppliers who know about the market. Grafton Spring Waterworks with small retailers who work as independent vendors. They purchase the water from the company at a wholesale price and distribute it across the country at their reasonable fee and as per the company’s pricing standards. The company trains and creates capacity for the best ways to sell the products to customers in the market. Also, it awards them to motivate a feeling of loyalty. The strategy ensures that the distributors and suppliers do not move to the company’s competitors.

Risks

Concerning risks, the company faces the failure to meet its profitability and financial targets due to the many players in the market. Secondly, competition is stiff despite water being of high demand in the market. Thirdly, Grafton Spring Water has a small number of distributors and employees a factor that threatens its production process and distribution of products. The situation influences the company to think of doing more advertisements and marketing (Bhandari & Vipin, 2016). Also, the company creates high-quality water and attractive packaging to boost sales and increase demands. Concerning distribution and production process, the company hires more employees and distributors to make work easier.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths 1.Grafton Spring Water has talented founders who comprehend the market better. 2.The company has technical and advertisement experience to ease its distribution and sale of products. 3.It also possesses a flexible distribution framework to support easy access to products. 4. Grafton Spring Water lacks debts which are suitable for growth. It has a high state of art bottling facility which creates quality control.

Weaknesses 1.expansion may create possibilities of founders losing sight of the business scope. 2.Outside the Sierra Leone market, the company is unknown. 3.Cash flow problems may exist from its expansion. 4.Boosting sales means that the company may have to create extra investment for its physical expansion

3. A constant power outage in Freetown as force the company to purchase expensive standby generators to carry out the essential task of the company, high prices in fuel and generator maintenance has put a financial burden on the company. 4.Lack of proper infrastructure like road had made it tougher for a company to reach out to targeted customers, this has hindered our sales significantly in recent years.

References

Bhandari, A., & Vipin, V. (2016). Efficiency and related technological aspects of the Indian food processing industry: a non-parametric analysis. The Journal of Developing Areas, 50(6), 227-243.

Torres, P., Augusto, M., & Lisboa, J. (2015). Determining the causal relationships that affect consumer-based brand equity: The mediating effect of brand loyalty. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 33(6), 944-956.