B M S College Of Engineering

Bangalore-19

Retail Management Assignment-03

Submitted by,

Example of Companies
Competitive Advantage

with

Sustained

1. Strong research and Innovation

In todays highly dynamic business environment, organizations need to develop new competitive
advantages to keep up with the speed of change in technology, customer demands and global competition.
In this difficult task, organizations can benefit from innovation strategies and tools more than ever, as it
helps companies to optimize their competing power by increasing their performance and efficiency. One
strategically effective way to use innovation for a company is to apply it in warehouse management.
Warehousing is becoming more and more a critical activity in companies. Competition and high customer
demands force companies hold less inventory, react faster to market changes and lead times and costs. As
a result, new automatic processes may increase productivity noticeably and become a source of
competitive advantage for companies. In this study our aim is to illustrate the innovation strategies role in
improving warehouse operation efficiency, enhancing the utilization of warehouse capacity, increasing
inventory accuracy and reducing customer complains significantly by explaining the old and new
processes of warehouse management in a global company.

The technology industry is one of the leading industries with respect to strong research and
innovation. And when it comes to setting the pace using innovation as leverage; Apple and Sony are
the two companies that have held their leadership position using innovation as a competitive
advantage.
2. Brand Popularity
Building a brand driven culture is a lifelong commitment to a mindset and a way of life that takes time,
planning and perseverance that produces intangible outputs which include greater customer satisfaction,
reduced price sensitivity, fewer customer defections, a greater share of customers wallets, more referrals,
and a higher percentage of repeat business. Customers value their relationships with their branded
possessions and with marketing agents and institutions that own and manage the brand . The brand
identity needs to focus on points of differentiation that offer sustainable competitive advantage to the
firm.

Being recognized all over the world as a respected brand is a sustained competitive advantage that
companies such as Virgin, Apple and Coca cola have used as leverage to hold the market sway for
years. Virgin is a company that has used its brand name as leverage to break into new markets in
completely new territories.
3. Corporate reputation
Corporate reputation is not a newborn issue neither in academic world nor practice. The term has evolved
with the passage of time to become a strategic and intangible corporate asset and it has been used in daily
life, business, and politics, etc. for a very long time. Reputation matters and it explain why customers

choose company product or service in preference to competitors offering. It makes the difference between
success and failure. Nevertheless, the events of the past decade reputational crisis of well-known
organizations , the demise of huge corporations, such as Enron, due to fraudulent practices, rising
sophistication of stakeholders, globalization and information flows, changing business and competitive
environment, growing demand for corporate transparency and social responsibility, etc. encouraged
renaissance of caring and striving for good reputation.

Corporate reputation is a form of sustained competitive advantage that companies such as Price
Waterhouse and Berkshire Hathaway have leveraged to become world class entities.
4. Strategic assets
Holding strategic assets such as patents is a strong source of sustained competitive advantage and
General Electric has stood the test of time because of the several patents held. The possession of
these strategic assets has made General Electric one of the most powerful companies in the world.
5. High volume production
Dangote Group of companies became one of the leading conglomerates in Africa because of its
ability to produce goods on high volume and ensure a uniform price throughout Nigeria.
6. Access to working Capital
Generally, public liability companies have a sustained competitive advantage over private companies
because of their infinite capacity to raise capital from the public. Take a look at how Oracle acquired
57 companies in a space of five years and Reliance Industries investing a billion dollars in a single
swoop to open a chain of retail stores.
7. Superior Product or customer support
High quality customer service is a key way in which a business can differentiate itself from another. To
provide the best customer service, a business needs to know what its customers expect of it and then meet
these expectations. Customer satisfaction is vital for keeping customers happy and loyal to the business.

IKEA has become a market leader in the furniture industry because of its ability to provide superior
product at an affordable rate; backed by a strong customer support system.
8. Exclusive re-selling or distribution rights

Exclusive distribution rights are typically granted by manufacturers based on geographical area.
The main reasons for doing this, from a manufacturer point of view, are control and costs, as
explained in a publication from the American Bar Association. Also, the distributor often agrees
not to sell products made by the manufacturer's competitors.
With fewer distributors to manage it is easier for manufacturers to control the way their products
are presented to consumers. This could be control of merchandising, sales price or advertising
material. It is also cheaper to contract with fewer distributors than it is to contract with many.

The relationship developed through an exclusive distribution arrangement can also reduce
manufacturing costs. The American Bar Association outlines this as well. It is because
production runs, distribution and warehousing can be better managed.
Retailers and distributors benefit from exclusive distribution deals because they do not have
competition in their geographical area, as stated by AllBusiness. These sorts of arrangements
often result in a greater sales commitment from the retailer or distributor, something which
benefits both parties. This applies in particular when the exclusivity works both ways.
The Coscharis Group has become one of the leading automobile retailers in Nigeria and West Africa
at large because of its possession of exclusive distributorship of BMW brand throughout West Africa.
9. Ownership of capital equipment
Ownership of capital equipment can be a source of sustained competitive advantage and Julius
Berger has proved it by becoming a leading company in the construction industry.
10. Flexibility
The ability to change swiftly is a strength and source of sustained competitive advantage that
Microsoft leveraged upon to become the largest software company in the world.
11. Speed and Time
Speed just keeps gaining momentum (as a competitive advantage). Why? Because:
1. Slow costs more. Every minute we can take out of manufacturing time, stocking time, get-tomarket time, and customer response time saves us money.
2. Speed is the ultimate customer turn on. Everyone is short of time. Customer hate delays, long
lines, out-of-stocks. And customer will pay for speed.
3. Speed is the one advantage that the big competition can't duplicate easily. Big companies are
bureaucratic, dysfunctional, and self-absorbed. They don't listen, they are slow to change, and they
kill momentum and initiative. Don't copy them.
Speed and time was once an overlooked source of sustained competitive advantage until FedEx and
Domino Pizza used it as leverage to become industrial pacesetters.
12. Low pricing
Cost competitive advantage is when a company is able to utilize its skilled workforce, inexpensive raw
materials, controlled costs, and efficient operations to create maximum value to consumers. Walmart uses the
cost advantage strategy by providing a very large selection and low prices via its retailer strength and size.
Costs can be kept at a minimum in many different ways. Some companies, like Nissan, have years of
experience producing cars in a very cost-effective manner. Other companies, use offshore manufacturing to

keep the costs of their products down. The current trend is for companies to cut down on the extras they offer
to customers. For example, the airline company Ryanair is removing two of its three toilets in each airplane to
increase the number of seats and drive down ticket costs. This might be an extreme way of cost cutting, but
companies need to survive in a recession. Companies may also receive government subsidies, which help to
pass on lower costs on to their customers. One prime example is your local farm.

13. Superior database management and data processing capabilities

GTBank, AT&T, Google, Facebook have become market leaders in their various niches because of
the superior database management and data processing capabilities they possess.