IndexASDA Competitive Advantage Company Background Company Mission, Purpose and Values ​​Competitive Advantage Low Price Strategy Strong Emphasis on Stakeholder Needs Community Programs Product Branding Culture of Quality and promoting safe environment Technology as a tool for competitive advantage ASDA Competitive Advantage One of the The main challenge facing the company today is how to understand the needs, requirements and concerns of its customers so as to create and generate products and services that can allow them to gain a competitive advantage. The strategic management of a business plays a crucial role in ensuring that the business is able to survive in the long run (Barnes 3). Long-term survival for an organization means that it can achieve successes that enable it to achieve its goals by ensuring that it realizes a competitive advantage over its rivals, as well as following appropriate strategies at the corporate level (Beer and Nohria 15). We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A company-wide strategy targets the overall competitive theme a company chooses to allow it to place emphasis on how it is positioned in the market. This allows a company to realize a competitive advantage and position different strategies that a company can adopt in various business environments. For example, corporate-level strategies or competitive strategy serve as a vital subsystem of corporate strategy (Barnes and Norris 15). It refers to a set of coordinated and integrated activities that help in leveraging core competencies and realizing competitive advantage. In this case, it is true that a company takes coordinated and integrated actions to enable it to exploit core competencies and achieve a competitive advantage (Barnes 5). Competitive advantages are what determine whether a company will be successful in the rail industry. It depends on a company's capabilities, resources and core competencies. This is possible because it is the manager's job to monitor and implement support activities that create room for competitive advantage (Barnes and Norris 17). An organization is said to have realized a competitive advantage once it exhibits characteristics that make it appear different from its competitors, which therefore enable it to realize high returns in a sustainable manner. Therefore, a competitive advantage serves as a good image for a company and an additional feature to a product or service that a company provides to its consumers, as well as a privileged position and a lower price than competitors can offer (Beer and Nohria 18 ). This article will explore the role of competitive advantage in enabling ASDA to succeed in Manchester. Company BackgroundASDA Stores Ltd was founded in 1965 in Yorkshire, England by JW Hindel. During this time, the company has engaged in selling a wide range of food and non-food items at a remarkably low price. It began to scale up its operations by increasing the number of stores it operated in the UK. By 1978, ASDA had around 60 stores and by 1980 its stores had managed to achieve sales of £1 billion (Thompson and Martin 54). Subsequently, the company added furniture and carpets to its product portfolio by engaging in mergers and acquisitions. However, the company incurred significant debt in entering into these agreements and this issue has caused significant strain on the company's financial resources. ASDA dissolved in 1987 whensold his MFI status to MFI managers. After engaging in sales to MFI and Allied Carpet, the company changed its name to ASDA Group plc (Robertson and Caldart 65). ASDA opened its first store in the south of Britain in 1989. In 1990, it established its own private clothing brand named as George, and rolled it out across its 65 stores to enable it to strengthen its clothing segment and also enable it to compete effectively with Marks & Spencer. The following year the company purchased the Gateway stores for £705 million, straining its financial resources (Robertson and Caldart 24). Analysts believed this problem was a result of the overpayments ASDA made to these out-of-town outlets and other second-class sites. As the company began to realize the strains in the profits it was making, it began to increase the prices of its products and abandon its low-price strategy, which its previous success was based on (Thompson and Martin 22). This is because the company was facing challenges in coping with severe price cuts and strong competition posed by other dominant players in the market such as Sainsbury and Tesco. In early 1991, ASDA appointed Archie Norman to help turn around the flagging company. Norman returned the company to its initial version of a food retail chain, as well as made its products more affordable than its competitors, placing an emphasis on low process over loyalty programs (Harrison 13). He relaunched the company by going public in both 191 and 1993. In 1999, ASDA made profits of £405 million after making sales of £8 billion (Khosrowpour 21). In 1999, Walmart was looking for ways it could expand its locations. , and decided to penetrate the British retail market, buying ASDA for 220 pence per share. This acquisition was expected to enable the company to have a significant impact on both the UK food-keeping industry and the financial markets (Addy, http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk). Because ASDA had now adopted a low pricing strategy, it managed to attract a significant number of British consumers. As a result, the post-acquisition process saw no problems as Walmart also pursued a low pricing strategy (Khosrowpour 22). Today ASDA is considered the second largest retailer in the UK. It is also the largest subsidiary of the Walmart family of companies. ASDA's reach is appreciated based on the number of stores it operates and the people who work there. For example, ASDA has around 321 stores in the UK and Northern Ireland, 29 depots and around 148,000 colleagues. These factories are the ones that enable the company to achieve a turnover of over £15 billion (Addy, http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk). In recent years, most colleagues at ASDA depots and stores are tending to get more involved in the community to help raise money for charities (Ashley-Roberts, http://www.simplydigitalmarketing.com). This initiative has allowed the company to engage more with the community and improve how it approaches its mission, vision, and purpose (Brinkman, Navarro, and Harper, 87). Furthermore, the supermarket sector in the UK is becoming highly competitive. It is the competitions that prevail among these competitors that allow the company to keep prices low. The company also ensures that it produces those products that are in high demand in the market and for which the consumer has a deep taste (Harrison 65). However, with so many stores to buy from, estimates reveal that customersthey are becoming less faithful. Additionally, price competition is driving customers to try new stores (Ashley-Roberts, http://www.simplydigitalmarketing.com). Most customers prefer price competition as it allows them to purchase goods at a relatively lower price and save money. The slogan associated with the ASDA price allowed customers to connect to the store at the low price offered by the company. However, whenever modern consumers make a decision about where to purchase their products, there is a wide range of motivations that influence their choice (Brinkman, Navarro, and Harper 54). Therefore, for ASDA to address these objectives effectively, it should come up with a business strategy that can enable it to distinguish its stores (BusinessCaseStudies, http://businesscasestudies.co.uk). This can enable it to realize a clear competitive advantage. In the modern business environment, ASDA engages primarily in price competition, although it also engages in other forms of non-price competition, as well as its concern for the community in order to create a positive image in the minds of its customers ( Brunn, 34). Corporate Mission, Purpose and Values ​​Managers of a particular enterprise should place emphasis on its mission, vision and values ​​in order to influence its path. This is how ASDA works to increase its competitiveness in the market. The statements the company makes are intended to allow the company to help its stakeholders understand the direction the company is taking. A mission statement is intended to define the overall long-term direction that an organization is following. ASDA's mission is to "emerge as Britain's best value retailer, always going above and beyond what customers need" (BusinessCaseStudies, http://businesscasestudies.co.uk). Furthermore, as well as having a mission statement, ASDA has a mission statement. This allows company stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the reasons why the business ends. ASDA's aim is to "make services more accessible to everyone". Additionally, ASDA adopts a set of values, which act as moral statements that allow it to encapsulate its beliefs, which then determine the actions and decisions it takes in the marketplace. The company's values ​​are respect for individuals, commitment to excellence and providing customers with high-quality services (Researchomatic, http://www.researchomatic.com). To ensure new colleagues at ASDA gain a better understanding of the company's mission statement, purpose and values, they are provided with a 25-hour induction program known as the 'Best Welcome'. Through the intranet, the company can undertake a survey that helps it determine how colleagues, departments, teams and managers follow the mission, purpose and values ​​while making decisions within the company (Researchomatic, http://www .researchomatic.com ).Competitive AdvantageLow Price Strategy As the second largest company in the UK, ASDA is embracing a new era. Its market share is 16.9% behind Tesco with 30.5%. Like its parent company, ASDA is committed to adopting the Everyday Low Pricing (EDLP) strategy instead of adopting the traditional high-low pricing mechanism adopted in various other stores in the grocery market. It is this commitment to EDLP that allows the company to achieve success in the marketplace (Monaghan, http://www.theguardian.com). ASDA was the first retail company to provide its customers with a price promise by introducing its ASDA Price Guarantee 2010. Here the company promised that it would undercut theprices charged by competitors. Since then, Waitrose and Sainsbury have introduced initiatives which may allow them to align the prices of branded products. Tesco then introduced its price promise which allowed it to mix own-label and branded products (Monaghan, http://www.theguardian.com). As most of its competitors are moving to adopt its low price strategy, ASDA should adopt new strategies that enable it to deal with a highly competitive market. There are two main challenges that ASDA faces with respect to marketing. These include communicating effectively with your ELDP positioning in a highly competitive market and internal team structure in order to take advantage of those with great talent within the company (EssayUK, http://www.essay.uk .com). The challenges facing the company have evolved rapidly over the past year. The main problem in this case is to communicate the EDLP to allow it to break into the clustered market. Therefore, it is crucial for the company to market its EDLP framework to ensure it is successful in the market (EssayUK, http://www.essay.uk.com). ASDA has adopted a differential strategy to enable it to beat the market prices that its rivals set in the market. However, its competitors, such as Waitrose, Sainsbury, and Tesco, compete with the company by charging the lowest prices prevailing in the market (Dransfield 35). However, the main challenges in this case prevail in terms of creating a significant personality in the case of the EDLP message and building a greater narrative than the communication of the strategy (John, http://community.businessballs.com). Most of the creative campaigns that ASDA practices in the past were successful. However, they have left a bridge that requires crossing to engage those people who do not shop at ASDA and develop an emotional understanding about the company's brand (John, http://community.businessballs.com).Most of the people who They shop at ASDA and are generally loyal to the brand. For example, in December 2012, several people complained of sexism for portraying a mother who did all the work during the seasonal period (Corporate Watch, http://www.corporatewatch.org). This issue was heavily criticized on social media and attracted around 620 complaints, although the campaign was eventually cancelled. However, the supermarket's public relations and communications team calmed the fury as most of its loyal customers defended and offered the supermarket's support message (Dransfield 32). Strong emphasis on stakeholder needs Any group, organization or group that is affected by the activities in which the company is engaged is called a stakeholder. Internal stakeholders are usually found within an enterprise such as managers, directors and colleagues. In contrast, external stakeholders are usually found outside an organization. Each of these groups is influenced by actions taken by ASDA (Corporate Watch, http://www.corporatewatch.org). For example, ASDA customers demand quality goods at affordable prices. Most customers today usually have high expectations of a business and invite them to participate in local community activities. This allows them to get a better idea of ​​themselves and the operations they undertake. Most ASDA depots and stores have community noticeboards and a monthly magazine featuring activities taking place in the community. This causes customers to be more attracted to the company and demonstrate their loyalty (Ruddick, http://www.telegraph.co.uk). Most colleagues love to pleasethe needs of the community in which it undertakes its business operations. The retail sector does not receive high payments, customers demand low prices and operations require a large number of colleagues (Baker, http://www.marketingweek.co.uk). This means that working with the community plays an essential role in terms of helping motivate colleagues. To motivate other community members to get involved in this initiative, ASDA organizes shared events in a monthly newsletter that meets internal needs (Ruddick, http://www.telegraph.co.uk). Shareholders usually demand a good return on investments made towards a particular organization. They also believe in addressing the interests of the community, as they love to witness that the company they have invested in acts in a positive way towards the environment. This means that as ASDA continues to remain a profitable company in the market, more and more people will invest in it, and this will help build a reputation for the company, which in turn will help to significantly increase its customer base (Baker , http://www.marketingweek.co.uk). Nationally, suppliers are ASDA's largest suppliers. They are always looking for avenues that can enable them to sell large volumes to ASDA to enable them to achieve economies of scale. As a result, ASDA has worked very hard to develop links with local suppliers. By working with both small and medium-sized businesses, ASDA believes it is possible to offer products to small groups on terms that appeal to them (Ruddick, http://www.telegraph.co.uk). Community ProgramsASDA employs its Community Programs to help it address its mission, purpose and values ​​effectively. The company does this to remain unique from the competition and to motivate its colleagues. This program has been running for seven years and is at the heart of the depots, shops and headquarters. The actions they engage in are determined by five criteria, which include health, people, education, major events and community (UKEssays, http://www.ukessays.com). Each of these criteria serves as a focal point for the annual program of activities in which the company is engaged. The local events coordinator is the one who has the task of setting up each shop as the activities approach. For example, under the health criteria, ASDA depots and stores are committed to raising funds to help support breast cancer campaigns and breast cancer care (Addy, http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk) . Customers and colleagues are the ones who served as blood donors. To facilitate this initiative, ASDA encourages the installation of blood donor vans in its car parks, to ensure that services are available to every person in the community and to provide them with nutritional and dietary advice (UKEssays, http://www.ukessays .com). The community program enables ASDA to deliver on its mission, purpose and values, as well as gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. This program allows colleagues to participate in local community activities, since they also live there. The process of collaborating with other people illustrates the value the company places on its stakeholders. This provides them with a moral focus, which allows them to plan a direction for the enterprise (UKEssays, http://www.ukessays.com). While under the ASDA Community Programme, customers can experience a wide range of benefits, especially those that focus on local needs. Colleagues in this case get involved to help raise funds for the company. A prominent example is the Brake Walking Bus, a road safety charity which teaches school-going children about safetyroad and helps them reach school on foot safely. ASDA helped this initiative break a world record when more than 50,000 children took part in it in 2012 (Gregory and Willis, 67). Additionally, ASDA participates in the sourcing of local products to meet the needs of customers and suppliers in specific areas and also helps in campaigns related to recycling local products. Most ASDA colleagues spend a significant number of hours outside of stores and assisting the community in areas where they need help. Other benefits associated with this initiative relate to broader causes such as those related to the Pakistan earthquake and tsunami appeals (Gregory and Willis, 68). As a result of being allowed to participate in this initiative, ASDA colleagues feel very valued. For example, based on a We're Listening survey, it was clear that this practice reflected real feelings about the organization. While working in the community, colleagues were able to realize high motivation (Kay 101). There are various issues that have played a vital role in motivating ASDA colleagues. First, with respect to action, colleagues feel that their role is not just about going to work and earning money, but also serves as a way to help the community (Gregory and Willis, 70). shops are graduated based on the initiatives they undertake towards the community. Every year ASDA colleagues strive to make improvements to community programs to help stores achieve higher ratings. In the case of representing the initiative, colleagues are encouraged to set SMART goals. This means that the objectives set should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely to facilitate effective community participation (Kay 103). Colleagues are encouraged to identify the most effective way that will allow them to achieve their goals. This means that they have no orders on what to do, but have the freedom to use their ideas in ways that enable the community to realize benefits and make appropriate choices about what can address their needs effectively (Wood, http:// essentialmarketingplanning.blogspot.com). In areas where colleagues feel highly motivated, their turnover decreases as do the resulting costs of training new colleagues. This also makes them feel highly valued and therefore directs them to work in a way that fulfills ASDA's mission, purpose and values. This also plays a crucial role in increasing ASDA's competitive advantage (Wood, http://essentialmarketingplanning.blogspot.com). Product Branding Based on a survey conducted in the UK retail market in 2004, sales in this sector achieved managed to reach approximately £246 billion. This indicates that the retail sector continues to show positive signs of growth. Furthermore, the retail sector in any country is very active, especially since this sector is changing rapidly. As a result, it constitutes one of the main sectors of any economy, especially when it comes to turnover and transactions (Barnes 55). As a result, this industry is highly sophisticated and highly competitive. Branding is extremely crucial, especially in the case of the UK retail sector. Today, ASDA is adopting a strategy launched in 2010 after relaunching its mid-tier label range with the revolutionary 'Chosen by You' brand to enable it to improve perceptions of the quality of the food it delivers to its customers. This new range is part of the 100 million dollar investment that has been madecaters to around 200,000 customers in the UK, especially when it comes to benchmarking and product testing (Brohan, http://www.internetretailer.com). ASDA has also decided to launch its own optical business which adopts similar logos and uses slogans which indirectly connect with the chain. To facilitate this initiative, ASDA has undertaken campaigns featuring two slogans. These include “Be a real spec saver at ASDA” and Spec Savings at ASDA.” It is expected that these strategies will enable ASDA to achieve customer satisfaction (Brohan, http://www.internetretailer.com). However, although ASDA is achieving continued growth from its diversification initiatives and the expansion of existing stores, the retail market has become highly competitive and has fewer shares which can influence the company's overall ranking and positioning in the international market . From this perspective, it is crucial to evaluate ASDA's strategic position and compare it with other retailers in the UK in order to strengthen its position in this market, which is highly competitive to enable it to achieve sufficient customer satisfaction and loyalty. (Brinkman, Navarro and Harper 89). Under the same brand, ASDA offers its customers financial services including insurance cards and loans, insurance, savings, energy provision and engine breakdown cover. According to a report carried out by the BBC in 2010, it emerged that ASDA was planning to purchase Netto for £778 million. Netto has around 193 stores in the UK and continued to operate under Netto until mid-2011 when the name changed to ASDA (Management Paradise, http://www.managementparadise.com). ASDA is promoting its brand on continuous basis and has announced to its customers that they will benefit from low prices in a wider range of products and will be complemented by a wider range of the services that the company will offer in its smaller stores. For example, the ASDA “George” brand, which the company purchased in 1995, has grown to become the UK's largest clothing brand by volume. Walmart also markets this brand internationally (Management Paradise, http://www.managementparadise.com). Quality culture and promotion of safe environment Organizational culture describes the way in which beliefs, values ​​and assumptions are considered appropriate also with respect to the facilitation of thinking. how to act within a company. Being shared by the elements that prevail within an organization, culture plays an essential role in helping to solve and understand extrinsic and intrinsic problems. Some of the main organizational rituals that take place every day within a company include rewards, staff meetings and evaluation processes (Management Paradise, http://www.managementparadise.com). This confirms that most activities undertaken by businesses are proportion-based rituals. In the case of ASDA, the working environment is different to working anywhere else because there are a variety of ways in which the organization ensures its culture remains unique. . For example, all employees within the company are expected to wear a name badge and also have daily meetings where they are expected to stay updated on how they are performing (Khosrowpour, 99). Additionally, company members work as one team and put customers' needs first. Additionally, they provide daily support to their colleagues to ensure they are at their best while working within the organization. This has been one of the main reasons why ASDA has remained at the forefront for so longconcerns the performance of its employees and colleagues (Uni Assignment, http://www.uniassignment.com). ASDA colleagues treat customers as at the heart of everything the company undertakes. They believe that their main role is to ensure that the goods they offer them are as affordable as possible. Furthermore, they follow a culture that makes all these initiatives possible. This is because the culture allows them to work as one team in order to offer optimal support to their stores, benefit from the strengths and skills of colleagues and share the successes that each individual achieves (Uni Assignment, http:// www.uniassignment.com). In the case of attitude, ASDA encourages its employees to develop a 'can do' and committed attitude, which means they may be able to quickly implement great ideas within the business. This mainly concerns the question of how they can carry out tasks instead of looking for reasons to avoid them. Additionally, ASDA provides employees within the company with meetings, which serve as a way to keep them informed about how the organization is performing (Haystack, http://www.haystackonline.com). This involves how they outline and communicate their vital activities on a daily basis to enable them to stay focused on similar goals. This also allows them to recognize and celebrate the successes of the team and individuals in general. All ASDA staff members, regardless of whether they work at ASDA House, the General Store or head office, should wear name badges. They engage in this initiative because they believe that a person is more approachable when called by name. In this case, employees can communicate freely with each other and customers can also approach employees without hesitation. As a result, customers of the organization develop a positive image towards it and tend to become loyal to the company (Haystack, http://www.haystackonline.com). ASDA organizes The Big Lunch, which acts as a quarterly meeting at the company. It is held at ASDA headquarters, giving colleagues the opportunity to share crucial information in a way that is considered fun, relaxed and unusual, and therefore ensures that every person in the business gets important news spread across the organization (Haystack, http://www.haystackonline.com). ASDA staff members are not required to wear jackets. This is because the company believes that jackets act as barriers to accessibility. As a result, every time a person becomes a member of ASDA, they look forward to saving money on their laundry bills. ASDA also has a "10 foot rule", which most people consider mysterious. However, it is a simple concept, which implies that if someone is within 3 meters of them, regardless of whether they are a colleague, a supplier or a customer, the organization believes that they should always greet them (Micro Strategy, http :/ /www.microstrategy.co.uk). This plays an essential role in building an atmosphere characterized by friendliness, respect and warmth. ASDA has a strategic plan that promotes health and safety relationships with the Community Health Improvement Plan. This plan also enables partners such as those working at the Forth Valley Health Board to make improvements to community health, particularly in addressing issues related to substance misuse, mental wellbeing and smoking sensation. The Health and Safety team also undertakes activities to complement the work undertaken by the Policy Unit in relation to the Falkirk Health Group and the Community Health Partnership.