Final Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan, Part One: Environmental Scan

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Strategic Plan, Part One: Environmental Scan

The target firm selected for this study is New York and Company. New York & Company is my favorite company, which I am familiar with for a long time. It is located in New York City. The company is American wear-to-work retail shop for ladies. The company apparel and accessories include pants, jewelry, tops, jackets, shoes, dress, bags, jeans, and skirts. Samuel Lerner and Harold Lane own the company. Samuel, who is the chairperson of the Board of Directors and also the Thief Executive Officer of NY&C, explains how they usually create value and sustain competitive advantage using the environmental scanning strategy. During the interview, he was also asked how the company evaluates its external environment as well as the general environment. Another area of interest that he was asked during the interview was how the company evaluates its operating environment. He gave the following responses;

Environmental Scanning Strategy: Creating Value and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

New York & Company's top competitors include Ludwig Beck, Xcel Brands, and Boohoo. For effective competition, NY&C must add value to its products through undergoing severe environmental scanning. Proper evaluation of the company environment helps the company managers to understand the company's general situation critically and even predict their implications (Abu Amuna, Al Shobaki, & Abu-Naser, 2017). The company consistently gather demographic information of its customers as a means to identify its customer needs and interests. The company collects the demographic data of its customer through undertaking lead user research. Lead user research is the research on innovation and development of products based on the information available concerning the customers. The data is collected from customers and product users that are used during product innovation and growth. The products are then developed based on the need of the users. Obtaining ideas from the product users helps the organizations to identify customer's needs quickly. The views are then used in the creation of innovative products. 

Another method that the company uses to ensure sustained competitive advantage is the use of the internet. The company uses an e-commerce platform to monitors and promote its interaction with its customers. Through the use of e-commerce, the company can know the number of customers who visit its websites to order products, customers who benefit from low discounts, and also those customers who give feedback over their past shopping experiences (Du Toit, 2016). Similarly, the company can sneak into the website of its competitor and still ideas about the customer comments and even new products which are trending in the market and copy. The company also learns how its largest competitors attract customers through the use of the internet. NY&C uses unique software as a social outlet for broadcasting purposes as well as the study of current measures in its environment. 

The company typically uses the following steps to accomplish the process of creating value for sustained competitive advantage through environmental scanning. The first step is to identify scientific, monetary, nominal, radical development, proceedings, and community, which is significant to the company. The second step is the spotting of the potential threats, medication, or prospects because it is implicit of events and actions (Gupta, & Tyagi, 2018). Thirdly, the company organizes its workforce, and finally, the company informs its workforce about the fast-moving developments, uniting, deviating, accelerated, or decelerating.

External analysis of NY&C

The study of the company's external environment focuses on technological factors, economic factors, social factors, political factors, and legal factors (Gupta, & Tyagi, 2018). New York and Company use the latest technology in designing and modeling of its products. It also abides by the rule of law of all countries where it operates. The company also supports the community by giving offerings that are used for developing community projects. The company usually sells its products at affordable prices. This makes it less affected by economic swings. The company typically considers political trends, which is significant for its sustainable growth.

General environmental analysis of the NY&C

The following factors are critical when scanning the NY&C general environment: the overall economic data, the company's competitors, and the target market. These factors form part of SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis is the strategic review of the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT analysis gives an overview of how the company fits into the economy and industry under which it operates by outlining the steps required to be undertaken for sustained economic advantage (Hussain, 2017).

Strengths of NY&C are innovative technology, product diversity, strong brand recognition, and eco-friendly products. With innovation, the company has shown that they are exceptional in this field. NY&C has continued to strive to meet the changing needs of the current market. The company diversifies its products by offering a broad range of products which satisfies the need of its customers. The company also has an advanced market network. To continue existing and become more powerful, the company must continue embracing research and development. The brand name is currently famous in New York City. However, the company has continued to expand on other markets to enable it to grow its global footprint. New York & Company is leading in selling high-quality eco-friendly products because it puts more emphasis on its customer needs. 

The weaknesses of NY&C include limited technology, stiff competition, and limited top sellers. NY&C must continue to expand its market area to maintain its plight against Ludwig Beck, Xcel Brands, and Boohoo. The company must also prepare to address challenges that they are likely to experience in an attempt to expand its market, which includes limited production facilities, and resources

New York and Company have the following opportunities for future expansion. Such opportunities include international expansion, expansion of apparel and accessories, development of the market to incorporate women campaigns and e-commerce. For the company to continue gaining the trust of potential customers in its quest for international expansion, it must introduce some new and catchy ideas into the business. Regardless of how the company competitors are established, it must continue to shine and make itself a presence in the market. The company must also consider technological growth in its production for effective competition. New York and Company improve on its online shopping platform to capture the ever-growing population of ladies.

The threats of NY&C include high competition and product replacement. The company's top competitors are Ludwig Beck, Xcel Brands, and Boohoo companies. There is a consistent increase in the cost of inputs that are needed to produce goods that meet the demand, and therefore for NY&C to remain competitive, it must identify strategic means to offset this increase. There is also a significant risk of substitute products. The use of technology has facilitated the duplication of products that affects NY&C. The company product line is innovative. However, without patents, it can lead to replication.

The Evaluation of industry operating environment of NY&C

The trends in the working environment of NY&C focuses on the interaction of the following factors; the bargaining power of suppliers: threats for entry into the business, bargaining power of buyers, and the risk of substitute products. Other factors to be considered are trade unions, consumer watchdogs, and municipal and advocacy groups. The apparel and accessories company requires comparatively less capital to start. The business also is subjected to low risks as the products are not perishable. There are few obligations to undertake for one to start such activity because it does not directly affect the health of individuals like other firms that deal with foodstuffs. Because of these advantages, there are high risks of a similar business emerging in the market. The bargaining power of the supplier also varies with the forces of demand and supply (Joshi & Mittal, 2018). When demand is high, many suppliers demand higher prices. The business is seasonal and also depends on the economic standard of the people that surround the industry. Customers can control the costs, especially when the prices go very high. Many other companies sell substitute products, which can profoundly affect the sustainable growth of NY&C.

Conclusion

Several companies use environmental scanning strategy to create value and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. An ecological scanning strategy outlines specific areas that organizations should improve on and adjust so that they can enjoy sustained growth. The analysis of environmental analysis gives an outline of how organizations can manage external factors. The environmental study also guides the company to understand the threats, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths of the organization and address them appropriately.

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References

Abu Amuna, Y. M., Al Shobaki, M. J., & Abu-Naser, S. S. (2017). Strategic Environmental Scanning: an Approach for Crises Management.

Du Toit, A. S. (2016). Using environmental scanning to collect strategic information: A South African survey. International Journal of Information Management, 36(1), 16-24.

Gupta, S., & Tyagi, R. (2018). Strategic Workforce Development. Asian Journal of Management, 9(1), 239-245.

Hussain, S. (2017). Strategic Management: A Tool for Competitive Advantage in Higher Education. In Paper in proceedings of 1st National Research Conference on Management, Leadership and Entrepreneurship-NRCMLE (pp. 175-187).

Joshi, A., & Mittal, A. (2018). Strategic Management-The Strategies that Leads Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and Management, 8(9), 1-7.