Riordan’s Competitive Advantages

Riordan’s Competitive Advantages The research will describe which competitive advantages Riordan has in common with McDonald’s and Burger King. This study will estimate, which competitive strategies Riordan could use to improve innovation and sustainability of business operations both in the United States and in the global market. Research will explain why those competitive strategies were chosen and estimate how they may affect sustainability of long-term organizational performance. The examination will also explain how the global market would affect the business strategy of Riordan.

Riordan Organization McDonald’s and Burger King The McDonald’s Corporation and the Riordan Manufacturing Company are both main industry leaders in their own field. One major competitive advantage that each company has in common is differentiating their products. Each company has a variety of items that meets the need of their consumers. The three companies sell both nationally and internationally. Burger King, Riordan, and McDonald’s increase their sales by offering price discounts, and sale promotions to ensure that their prices are affordable to everyone in need.

All three companies use cost leadership, focus, and differentiation tactics to gain a competitive advantage over their competition. Another commonality between the three companies is that they use some type of reward and incentives program to ensure that they are recognizing their employees for operational excellence. Riordan Innovation Strategies Innovation Riordan could increase innovation and sustainability for the business operations in the United States of America and globally by implementing a strategic capacity plan.

This plan will increase effectiveness, add improvement to its supply chain, and implement the methods and concepts of lean production to gain value and over time help sustain competitive advantage. Strategic capacity planning starts with better use of resources by reducing waste of raw material and producing products in good time at a lower cost. Riordan should make sure it has stock available and on the shelf, which will allow the inventory cost to rise. Riordan can increase its competitiveness by using farsighted capacity planning, by making use of the breakeven analysis of financial statements.

This will help Riordan improve the process that it already uses, and by using the just-in-time inventory, which would help the company in the area of its operation processes. These strategies can be implemented by ensuring a better eye for detail, adding the key values of extreme precisions and enthusiastic quality control to help continued success in the future. Business Decisions Differentiation and cost leadership were two strategies chose because they are the most common between the different companies. Amazingly two leading organizations from different industries are using the same competitive strategies and tactics.

The two competitive strategies may be the reason both organizations are leading within their industries. Differentiation is a type of competitive strategy with which the organization seeks to distinguish its products or services from competitors (Valdehueza, 2009). Riordan’s organization sells heart valves, plastic bottles, fans, and medical stents. Clearly, they have a large variety of products. According to Valdehueza, cost leadership is a competitive strategy with which the organization aggressively seeks efficient facilities, cuts costs, and employs tight cost controls to be more efficient than the competition.

Decreasing business costs every way possible while providing customers with a high quality product is a definite way to ensure an advantage over the competition. Sustainability When organizations master’s cost leadership, and differentiation they will began to meet and exceed long-term goals. The organizations can use these two strategies for every business situation they may encounter. Proper use of both strategies will result in sustainability and organizational performance. Competition between companies will create a winner and a looser.

In the competition process in efforts for the winners to win, they have to increase consumer value to satisfy the customer. This method alone will create long-term sustainability within the corporation. Organizations create customer loyalty by increasing consumer value in efforts to surpass the competition. Continual improvements of this particular process will sustain long-term organizational performance, and operational excellence. Global Market Affect Business strategy The globalization of markets is the merging of historically distinct and separate national markets into one larger global marketplace (Hill, 2009).

With any form of globalization, companies will have to understand international measurement issues. Riordan’s Plastic began with international measurement in efforts to prepare the company for the global market. According to Hill, the globalization of production is the sourcing of services from one location around the world to take advantage of national differences in the cost of factors or production in labor energy, land, and capital (2009). International measurement issues include return on investments (ROI), budget analysis, and historical comparison (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). Dr.

Riordan insisted on using their resources as a tool to increase profits when he started this company. This way when Riordan became international customer satisfaction and the rate of return was the most important factors. Riordan also needed a budget analysis as well as a historical comparison to maintain global success. Conclusion One major competitive advantage that each company has in common is differentiating their products. Each company has a variety of items that meets the need of their consumers. All three companies use cost leadership, focus, and differentiation tactics to gain a competitive advantage over their competition.

Riordan can increase its competitiveness by using farsighted capacity planning, by making use of the breakeven analysis of financial statement, which will help Riordan improve the process that it already uses, and by using the just-in-time inventory, which would help the company in the area of its operation processes. Differentiation and cost leadership were two strategies chose because they are the most common between the different companies. When an organization masters cost leadership, and differentiation they will began to meet and exceed long-term goals.

Continuous improvements of this particular process will sustain long-term organizational performance, and operational excellence. Riordan also needed a budget analysis as well as a historical comparison to maintain global success. References Chauhan, S. , Nagi, R. , & Proth, J. (2004) Strategic capacity planning in supply chain design for a new Market opportunity International Journal of Production Research 42(11), p. 2197 – 2206 Hill, C. W. (2009) International business competing in the global marketplace (7th ed. ) Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Shields, T. 1999) Tutorials – lean production / lean manufacturing Defense Acquisition University. Retrieved January 31, 2012, from http://www. dau. mil/educdept/mm_dept_resources/navbar/lean/01rdg-lean. asp Valdehueza, Gregar, D (2009) Strategy Formulation, and Implementation Retrieved from: http://www. slideshare. net/gar_dev/strategy-formulation-and-implementation-1224519 Wheelen, T. L. , & Hunger, J. D. (2010) Concepts in strategic management and business policy: Achieving sustainability (12th ed. ) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall