Research and Development
Overall Strategy
Mission Statement
Diversification! Low- & High-Technology
Management Team Responsibilities
We will make every effort to ensure the most stringent quality specifications in order to deliver impeccable products and provide a better qualitative approach and environmental performance
- Have a high presence in Low-tech
- Engage in economies of scale
- Have a high capacity
- Avoid producing on 2nd shift
- Investment / expenditures in Low-tech increases innovation
- Emphasis on Marketing budget
- Long-term thinking
Marketing
Mission Statement
Overall Strategy
Management Team Responsibilities
Competitor Analysis
SWOT
Going Into the Future
What We Learned
Conclusion
Yves
Deborah
Yves
- Focus on Promotion Budget rather than Sales Budget
- Low investment in Sales Budget
Offir
Morgane
Outcome Chester
Finances
- Focus on high technology with high price
- 2 high tech products
- High emergency loan Round 4 due to inventory
- Only had 2 products, both high-tech
- lowest overall automation (besides us)
- Both products had same price and Marketing budget
- Main focus on low-tech (2 products)
- Active also in Traditional sector with Baker
- Had a price sensitive approach
- Highest market share (20.3%)
- High focus on Accessibility and Awareness
- Equally successful products in low- & high-tech sector
- Strongest in low-tech sector
- Heavy investor in TQM
- Steadily growing automation up to 10.0
SWOT Analysis
- Low-Tech: Cake was "too good" for the market, not according to customer needs
- Gap between customer expectation and our product increased each round
- Implementation took longer than anticipated
- Age was of high importance for Cake
Overall learnings
Conclusion
Weaknesses
Strengths
- Uncertainty in the beginning about the budget
- Valued Promotion budget more than Sales Budget
- Relied too much on Benchmark and adjusted Sales Forecast accordingly, albeit own calculation
- Parts of our strategy were not optimal, given the time period
- Analysis of competitive landscape is crucial
- Chester has growing potential, which will take time.
• Emergency Loans (Rounds 4, 5, 6 & 7)
o Round 5 - overproduction, low-end product positioned outside of market segment
o Round 7 - TQM overspending, overproduction, lack of finances
• As a result, became more reactive than proactive in decision making
• Lacked financial structure and forethought in planning
o Failed to incur debt early on to invest in the company
- Good rating at initial stage (A rating)
- overall improvements in last round (contribution margin, cash balance, no emergency loan)
- Massive reduction in adm. costs (TQM)
- Constantly improved Customer Survey Score (17 to 37)
- Kept producing although inventory was at hand
- Low investment in automation due to lack of funds
- underestimation of automation's influence
- Didn't use capacity efficiently
- Match issuance of stock with growth
- Take up as much long-term capital from Round 1 on
- Issue stock from Round 1 on
- Not get any unnecessary short-term debt
- Mismarked issuance of stock and long-term debt
- No current debt as of December 31st, 2021
- Positive Cash position of almost $ 2 Million
- Emphasis on reducing risk and inventory-hold over forecasting
- Increase capacity and automation by issuing LT debt and stock --> success for the low-tech sector
- Continue to competitively price products and maintain awareness / accessibility
- Maintain adjusted strategical practices to sustain in the long term
- Avoid costly methods like second shift
- Act more market-oriented (react to customer needs)
Thank you for your attention
Opportunities
- Expand our company
- Introduce new products
- Increasing market demand for future
- Further TQM use for cost reduction
Threats
- Market competition
- Lack of funds to buy capacity in order to expand
- Potential market demand decrease