Ryanair Case Analysis Vella, O\'Leary, and Kelly
Ryanair certainly has had an interesting history and represents an extraordinarily successful company. The company has pioneered the low cost leader strategy and crafted a niche for themselves in the European market in record time. Furthermore the company developed this niche to become the industry leader. Despite the company's success however, the industry is evolving and new challenges are constantly emerging. It is recommended that Ryanair maintain its position as well as possible during the economic downturn while simultaneously looking to increase its market share and expand through acquisition. In the long term it is recommended that the company focus on improving their customer service levels as well as their employee relations position.
Xiameter Case Analysis Advantages of Needs-Based vs.
Xiameter's success as a subsidiary of Dow Corning is predicated on the successful differentiation of an entirely new business unit based on the concept of reducing operating expenses and passing on the savings to the customer. The Web-only, highly automated approach to order fulfillment, complemented by a reduced product lien footprint and terms of sale that stressed velocity over complexity were also what many customers of the company were looking for (Bloemhard, 2012). Where Dow Corning succeeded and others have failed with e-commerce strategies revolved around the key factors and decisions that shaped the business model and marketing strategy for Xiameter. The advantages of needs-based versus end-user based segmentation are evident in the success of the Xiameter e-commerce strategy. These advantages o being needs-based are analyzed in this paper as well. The rapidly changing nature of the competitive environment is also discussed in the context of Xiameter's product and pricing strategies. These specific aspects of product and pricing are evaluated in the context of Ron Fillmore's greatest question in the case, which is whether the company should modify its business model or not. This analysis concludes with a series of recommendations and advice for Rom Fillmore as to the future direction of Xiameter. He has ample reason to be optimistic as the case alludes to, as the future of chemical purchasing will increasingly be mobility-based, a perfect transition for Xiameter to selling on smartphones and tablet PCs including the best-selling Apple iPad (Bloemhard, 2012). All of these factors speak to the efficiency of innovation processes within Dow Corning and the exceptional level of upper management support for the innovation process (Bacheldor, 2005). The determination and support shown by the CEO and senior management team are pivotal in the success of Xiameter.
Analysis of Key Factors and Decisions that Shaped the Business Model and Marketing Strategy
Galvanizing all aspects of success of the Xiameter business unit and its many implications on the Dow Corning supply chain, pricing, distribution, selling and service is the steadfast support of its senior management team. Making it clear that Xiameter was not to be taken lightly and the company would not fail, the CEO set a very solid foundation of change management early in the process. This commitment took even the most difficult factors and decisions and put them into a context of achievable challenges, defining a tone of determined effort. The decision to move forward with the Xiameter was extremely risky as Dow Corning was departing from its core strengths of a high service-based, high priced model of delivery of products. Dow Corning at the corporate level has long been seen as a trusted advisor in the chemicals industry, one capable of leading innovation and adoption within any new product area (Hunter, 2002). The decision to move quickly into a price-drive marketplace, supported by senior management, signaled that the top leaders of the company from the CEO down realized that pricing pressure and competitive threats were successfully attacking their core business and they would need to address it.