Marketing Mix, the Supply and Management Chain Equations for Blackmores - Case Study Example

Individual Situation Analysis Introduction Marketing is ‘the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others’, (Kotler, et al., 2006) One of the better ways of ensuring that there is a proper retention and expansion of bases of consumer base is to ensure that the business is able to ensure deliverance of a consumer needs that is suited to the manner and processes of the need at the time and place needed in a manner that delivers on the brand promise (Accenture, 2008). Basic Considerations in Marketing: People today, do not just "buy" a product. They "buy" the concept of what that product will do for them, or help them do for themselves. It is in this context that the relevance of the marketing concept becomes clear as it helps a given organization understand its product and the market to which the product is aimed (Berry and Wilson: 13). What can be understood in this regard is that no product has a universal appeal nor can it have a universal marketing plan, there are a number of considerations that alter plans based on product and brand (Aker and Mills, 2001). It is in cases such as these that the primacy of the marketing strategy comes to the fore. There are basically three parts to any given marketing strategy formulations: 1. Segmentation 2. Targeting 3. positioning Company Background: Blakemore’s has been a part of the expansion and advertising of health products for a long time. The range of products that the company has on offer includes vitamin medication, herbal medicines and mineral dietary additions (Official Blackmores Website, 2009). Blackmore’s is in essence an Australian company with an operational presence in Thailand and in Malaysia. There is also an autonomous dispensing system present in the countries of South East Asia like Indonesia beside having a presence in New Zealand. There is a variety of products that company deals with-these include medication for a variety of pain medication, cold and influenza immunizations, medication related to the wellbeing of the digestive system etc. Executive Summary: Blakemore’s is a brand that enjoys a high level of recognition power in Australia and New Zealand. It is in fact known as the vitamin kings of the country. It has also seen a high rates growth and development in countries of South East Asia that includes countries like Malaysia, Thailand Hong Kong Singapore and Indonesia. The company has employed a variety of marketing and logistics plans in every market that it has ventured into (Data Services International Report, 2003). The company has had operations in Hong Kong for over 15 years. Even then, there is still no office in that the company has in the country. At the same time, Singapore has witnessed not just an official distribution system along with an official space that employees more than forty people. The following report will analyse the marketing mix, the supply and management chain equations for Blackmores and undertake a SWOT analysis of the organization based on an analysis of the macro and the micro environments within which the organization actually functions. Micro Environment: Within the purview of the microenvironment lie the things that influence the organization directly. A majority of these variables are related directly to the organization and the product at hand. A lot of them are inclusive of a network of suppliers and buyers along with shareholders and interested parties that work in the local capacity. Micro the micro environment within which a company works is not essentially the smaller bits of the firm but could also stand to denote the association amid the business and the variables that decide how the business is supposed to function. There is a local association in place that would in turn mean that the local factors have a certain level of sway as well in the decision making process. Micro-environment would include logistics, employees, management functions and underlying organizational culture and strategy. Macro Environment: The macro environment within which an organization functions is inclusive of all the factors have an impact on the overall working of the business but are not necessarily controllable by the business and the stakeholders concerned. These are in essence the political, economic, social and technological forces operative in the country at any given point in time that are not within the organizational control of a given business but have a bearing on the manner in which the business is run and the outcomes of the business practices nonetheless. For example, it would not be possible for a given company to have an impact on the national laws are operative in its given national legal system although the process of lobbying has been developed by corporates to have some say in the process of policy making. These laws are continuously changing, and it is essential that the company retain its flexibility in order to be adaptive to these laws. The market might be characterized by aggressive competition and rivalry. There is always a problem of substitutes that globalization would present. The broader surroundings change all the time therefore urging the markets to be able to make up for the losses and adjust to the changes that have come about. These changes include a change in the cultural, political, economical or the technological surroundings within which the company functions. The macro environment in which Blackmores has to function is characterized today by stiff competition that it faces from newly emergent chains such as Natureo. There is also the case of the world economic crisis that has meant that in turn, Blakemore’s has to sell products at competitive prices. There is a hardening of the purse strings which would mean that post prescription medication like vitamins would not be high on the list of most people. The internal environment: All factors that are internal to the organization are known as the 'internal environment'. They are mostly named by the application of the 'Five Ms' of marketing also known as Men, Money, Machinery, Materials and Markets. More often than not the manner of the internal workings of the organization are as important as are the external micro and macro environment factors. For the marketing team, the procedure by which management of the internal alterations are handled is labeled the process of 'internal marketing. The internal management is sound with an amazing system for supply chain management and production in place that would aid the competitive edge of the product for the longer haul. SWOT analysis Strengths Product on offer is an essential and not a luxury Commodity Government support for industry in the shape of low duties Unaffected by slowdown trend of economy Short period of promotion and a standing brand that people trust Changing perception regarding standard medication Weaknesses Difficult to introduce new products, lower scope of innovation High dependence on domestic demand Stiff Competition from brands like Cenovis, Natureâ Strict rules regarding and production and distribution of medication in Australia. Opportunity Economic climax Large amount of Australians are now more open to medication, of an alternative nature and substance Government support to business development and extension Easy availability of raw material Well developed supply and logistics chain New industry establishment created large amount of job  Booming alternative medication market Threats New idea not acceptable for the market Unknown/undiscovered  Structural  error will lose public’s confidence Increasing competition cpould be a problem if quality is compromised. Products: Marketing Mix: The range of products that Blakemore’s has on the market is mostly non prescriptive medicines like vitamin tablets. This would therefore imply naturally that sections of the product line being sold by Blakemore’s would form a part of the more tricky self medication genre that is a lot more tough to convince the consumer about. The kind of medication that Blakemore’s specialize in, is medication that is mostly non prescriptive like vitamin tablets and calcium etc among others. Given aboriginal background of the Australian market and the new trend of making calcium and vitamin tablets a part of one’s everyday life there would a strong case for expansion in a market that is characterized by faith in personal medicine decisions over prescriptive medication (Roos, 2001).   The structural model on the impact of the marketing mix characteristics on brand equity is can be understood in the context of theory (Roos, 2001). The product in our case is not just non prescriptive medication but a culture that would promote a lifestyle of enhanced medication-like the use of vitamins and calcium. There is thus the need for the promotion of herbal and natural medication vis-à-vis the use of the more traditional form of energy enhancements. The idea therefore should be to ensure that the denominations of price are set so that they are competitive in an increasingly growing market. Promotion related strategies need to be set so that product is highlighted and made to look attractive to the consumer. The place of promotion finally is important given the fact that this would decide the “medium and manner” through which the reach between the consumer and the company is established (Belch and Belch, 1995). There is proof available in the form of information from Blackmore’s website that is proof of the fact that the bulk of business done by the company is backed primarily by a focusing on the primacy of retailing the product (ASX Release, 2009). Sales over the internet as a medium happens on a limited scale although other strategies have been employed in Australia, the company base. The company also has a strategy wherein the line is marketed as singular products rather than complimentary medication. The idea therefore is to highlight the natural ingredients and the fact that the medication has little side effects. The need therefore is simple and is reflected in the marketing strategy. Delivery is made at values that suit customers and in manners that are most in demand. This is achieved by ensuring that there is a consonance with the rapidly changing demands of the market. The efforts are focused toward attracting buyers through an assurance of solutions and medication needs that are not just different but higher in terms of quality when compared to the market competition. The process of retail focused market domination can therefore continue in its prioritization process. Advertising needs would therefore be focused on the retail oriented strategy as well. The strategy needs regarding the price of the product is simple- prices from the launch till delivery need to be aggressive  (Dools and Lowe, 2007). The idea therefore is a marketing of the product keeping the niche market in mind. Advertisements therefore should be backed by the local pharmacist and the campaign cannot just rest its haunches on the traditional modes of the marketing mix. There is a need for innovation with the campaign and internet marketing could never be made the focal point, the idea therefore would be the use of print and TV in an innovative manner. The idea therefore needs to be to target the grocers and druggists so that demand and the market requirements are created. The logistics equation needs to be properly worked out and a jingle campaign over the radio and audio media could also be utilized. Supply and Supply chain: A news report published this year stated that Blackmores has worked to consolidate its company’s head office, it’s production and logistical units along with the distribution network into its Blackmore’s Campus at Warriewood in Sydney. Before this, a strong development and expansion of the company had necessitated that Blackmore’s tore up its production and distribution operations and spread these over a number of networks. Getting all these splinter groups under one site, with the aid of scientific help, has helped bring a greater sense of efficiency to the business. This would therefore mean that the supply chain and logistics cost of Blackmores at present is reasonable and is within a respectable reach. This would therefore also mean that there is also the opportunity to experiment with innovation and bring the process of production under stricter control and guidance. The chain also has an integrated logistics solution in place that would give Blackmores a set of variable that were easier to deal with, the logistics impact was improved with the pick and dispatch happening faster and more in a more accurate manner (New HQ delivers improved supply chain performance for Blackmores, 2008). Technologies such as split case picking and full case picking are a competitive advantage that would need to be explored further. The change has helped bring about a supply chain earnings of over A$ 100 mn. There are now smart Pick modules that have been designed specifically for high volume maintenance and helping with a more efficient manner of handling productivity. The idea now is to deal with fast moving Full-Case and Split-Case SKUs. These also help in the betterment of quality. Increased productivity due to better warehouse layout and the introduction of Voice Picking  Consumer service improvements solicited by the change would be inclusive of a better system of order turnaround and a betterment in the system that deals with the orders and demands. The idea therefore is to achieve higher order fill rate. This can be helped because of the access to stock and systems such as “automated order tracking and sortation for distribution, improved palletizing and dispatch procedures for larger orders” (Blackmore’s Website). The marketing mix would therefore have to highlight the use of a face of Blackmores that would be identifiable with the vitamin brand as it is better known in Australia. the idea therefore would be to secure endorsements from a well recognised sportsman like a cricketer or a hockey player that would be able to attribute his/her success to the Blackmores Vitamins. This is the most traditional and yet the most accepted format of marketing that could be utilized for a fast moving product like post prescription medication that Blackmores specializes in. use of the traditional media over and above the over the top marketing strategy would best be implemented. There is also the option of pop-ups and internet marketing and advertising targeting the market characterized by the hard working and stressed everyday individual. In conclusion: In conclusion, therefore it may be reiterated that Blakemore’s would need to expand and capitalize on the ever growing and expanding alternative and post prescription medication and drug market that is growing in most developed countries of the world such as Australia. The company has undertaken some major expansion plans in other parts of the world such as Asia and Europe. The fact that there is an economic downturn and the correlating problems of expansion should not affect the [land of growth that the company should choose to undertake in the longer run. For now the idea of sticking to the age old accepted and traditional modes of marketing is probably the best course of action to adopt as far the marketing mix is concerned. Reference: Belch G and Belch M, 1995, Introduction to advertising and promotion- An integrated marketing communication perspective, pub, The Federation Press ASX Release, 2009, Blackmores announces healthy revenue growth, Third quarter announcement, accessed October 5, 2009, Roos M, 2001, Complimentary Healthcare Markets, International Market Research Reports (IMRR), pub, STAT-USA New HQ delivers improved supply chain performance for Blackmores, 2008, accessed October 5, 2009, Kotler P, Adam S, Brown L and Armstrong G, Principles of marketing, Edition 3rd, pub, Prentice Hall Pearson, Australia, 2006 Accenture Publication, 2007, Creating Loyalty, A Customer Centric Approach, p2-5, accessed October 5, 2009, < http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/672904CE-5407-4A5C-AE92-7606F6A0FB2C/0/CustomerAcqusitionandRetentionCreatingCustomerLoyalty_ACustomer_CentricApproach.pdf> Blackmores, website, accessed June 15, 2009,   Blackmores Finds Opportunities in Crisis, 2003, pub, Data Services International, Blackmores Limited Elzeney D, 2008, Oil, Politics, and Economics: Kuwait's Balancing Act, pub, Stimson Publication Report Doole I and Lowe R, 2007, International Marketing Strategy: Analysis, Development and Implementation, Published by Cengage Learning EMEA, pp431-433  Read More