I am the business manager of the Performance Chemicals division ($500million) of a Speciality Chemicals Company ($14billion). Our CEO wants us to become the fastest growing (moving from 4-5% growth to 10-15% growth) speciality chemicals company and has therefore asked all the divisions to present growth strategies to him. I would like you to advice us as we do not believe that there is significant untapped potential in the markets served by our division.
The case is designed to be presented to the candidate by an interviewer, who plays the role of the business manager of the Performance Chemicals division of a Speciality Chemicals Company.
Key question: What kind of growth strategies could help the division grow at a faster rate?
Answer: The company should look at strategies such as:
The interviewee should perform a back-of-envelope analysis which answers the key question - 'Whether or not the Performance Chemicals division can grow at a 10%+ per annum rate'; and recommend potential growth strategies for the business unit.
It is clear that the company has to look beyond traditional product strategy to generate the demanded growth.
The company should look at
Alternatively, the following strategies could also be considered:
The company should look at strategies such as product enhancements or product-service bundling, outsourcing non-core activities and new markets for the existing technological capabilities.
Two frameworks here: 4 Ps (= price, place, product, promotion), or the Ansoff Matrix (grow with existing or new products in existing or new markets). Both are quite MECE. Word of caution however --... (more)
Hi! It depends very much on the industry. In some cases (Growth strategy) I will use a broad structure, in others (e.g. “how to increase the excessive luggage revenues for an Airline”) I will use P... (more)
Hi Elisey, I would personally not recommend to use a single framework for all the so-called business situations (M&A, Entry, New product, Operations etc). Although this would help to more easil... (more)
Hi Anonymous, let me illustrate how I would approach the low-profits scenario that you are describing. You should start to clarify the profit expectations and how much the company is actually underpe... (more)
Hi Anonymous A, From my understanding, you want to answer this question: is there a potential to launch a mobile/digital brand in Europe for P&C (property & casualty) insurance? If so, what... (more)
The Value Chain - as e.g. by Porter - is a classic framework to structure the activities of a business and add value to products by transforming resources.
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