Aspects of Design Thinking

Author’s Name:

Institutional Affiliation:

Innovation is the process of translating an idea into a value creating goods or services which customers will be willing to pay for. That idea must satisfy customers’ specific need and be economical on cost. On the other hand, competitive advantages are conditions allowing a company to produce valuable goods or services at a lower price thus selling more than the market rivals. Factors such as cost structure, the quality of the product, intellectual property, customer service, distribution network and branding, contribute massively when a company is creating a competitive advantage. Therefore, it can be said that a company can hardly enjoy any competitive advantage without creativity and innovations (Stutz & Lynch, 2013). This report is going to explore the organizational philosophy and innovation, activities carried out in order to sustain competitive advantage and R& D initiatives being employed for long-term competitive advantage in The Domino’s Pizza.

Domino’s Pizza is a multinational pizza company which is headquartered in Michigan, U.S.A. It is the second largest pizza chain with over 9000 corporate and franchise stores in United States and operating in more than sixty countries worldwide. Domino’s was founded in 1960 by Tom Monaghan and his brother but later sold to Bain Capital in 1998 and it went public 2004. Initially, Domino’s dealt with pizza only, today the company offering other dishes including pasta, oven-baked sandwiches, fried chicken, side dishes and desserts. Although the company has been dealing with competition from alike chains such as Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, KFC, Starbucks and many more, Domino’s has been increasing its market share daily by being a customers focused company whereby it believes in offering what customers want. This cannot be explained better that in its vision of being “Number 1 in people, and number 1 in pizza” (Balmer, 2014).

In order to be number one in people and in pizza, Domino’s has been coming up with inventions and also embracing innovations in all of its operational systems worldwide. For example, it has been adapting to all external changes effectively. Domino’s has been flexible enough to change with time. For example, it has embraced and employed much new technological advancement in its production, storage and delivery of its products. The company had to do this in order to compete with its competitors who have employed these technologies too. Failure to adapt to external changes would only lead to the company been outdone by others thus making it uncompetitive. Also, as mentioned earlier, according to Domino’s, customers are its driving force and therefore much of its operations focus on them. for this reason, Domino’s has a well-structured customer care service program which aims at wanting to know exactly what every customer is happy about and what should be changed in order to achieve satisfaction.

In addition, Domino’s has strategies which are flexible enough to meet all of its stakeholders’ needs. For example, it has a platform which is used by customers, suppliers, regulators, stakeholders and distributors where they are all kept up to date concerning the company’s operations through Domino’s mobile app and website. Anyone with an issue airs it through these platforms, and since it is Domino’s aim to give satisfaction, it act accordingly on any issue highlighted by any of the above mentioned people. Domino’s has also been responding quickly to changes of the environment and taking advantage of such changes so as to have a competitive edge. For example, it took advantage of the advancing technology by putting in place digital ordering and today, Domino’ s boosts 85% of all order placed by customers digitally in the United States. This strategy was highly regarded and embraced by the customers, some even admitting that they had never before thought of or imagined a time when pizza would be ordered whenever one wished and at any time of all days. This admission removes any doubt that Domino’s Pizza has exceeded customers’ expectations from the company, showing how Domino’s Pizza jumps into opportunities which help it in winning customers and thus dominating the market.

Research and Development is an important tool of ensuring that the company retains its competitive advantage. For this reason, Domino’s Pizza has been doing research on various matters concerning the company for them to be developed to a level of granting the company a competitive advantage. For example, Domino’s is currently researching on how effective robots will be in production and in delivering its products to customers. When implemented, this strategy will not only be efficient, but also effective, and this will definitely give Domino’s Pizza an upper hand when competing with other firms (Martin, 2016).

References Balmer, G. (2014). Managing Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation: Domino's Pizza. The Business Horizon, 61, 73-82. Evans, J. (2013). Evolution of Domino's Pizza Inc: From a Local to a Multinational. The Business Journal, 5-13. Martin, A. (2016). Reseach and Development: Today's Companies in Perspective (4th ed.). Stockholm: Oxford University Press. Stutz, B., & Lynch, J. (2013). Competitive Advantage. Vienna: Pearson Press.