AB InBev: A Sustainable Competitive Advantage

market shares. This strategy delivered economies of scale that were critical in the crowded longdistance reselling market. “Because the volume of bandwidth determined the costs, more money

Company Background: The company was originally started in 1853 by John Bausch in Rochester, New York. The small store excelled because Bausch discovered

Attracts customers with other preferences and may compete broadly in the industry by branching out in new locations

“There are four main elements to our business model – product, distribution, communication and price. Our job is to do such a fantastic job on the first three that people forget all about the fourth.” (Bernard Arnault, CEO of Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton. Taken from

Frederick Weyerhaeuser and 15 partners in January of 1900 started the company. They started by purchasing 900,000 acres of land from Northern Pacific Railway in Washington. At the time that was the largest private purchase of land in the United States. The 15 partners, against Frederick’s suggestion, named the company Weyerhaeuser in his honor. The headquarters was set up in Tacoma Washington.

Moreover, the products were developed based on what the company believed the consumers wanted (O’Neill 2010). The group completely forgot one of the keys of success of every company, the customers and their needs.

product design and product/ service bundles tend to be more successful that those who do

Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer. The company is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans. Our diverse background also includes malt production, rice milling, real estate development, turf farming, label printing and transportation services.

Anheuser-Busch “is among the global company’s largest and most technologically capable breweries” (About, n.d.). On Anheuser-busch.com, you can find a lot of information about the company and their products. The headquarters of Anheuser Busch is located at One Busch Place St. Louis, MO 63118 (About, n.d.). The most known beer families that they produce are the Budweiser and bud light Family. There are numerous brands that Anheuser-Busch produces aside from Budweiser and Bud light. Initial searching for Bud Light Company because most of my family is enthralled by this beer, and upon further researching the beer brand, it was surprising to find that it was actually owned and manufactured by another company, Anheuser-Busch, that also manufactured

Tangible goods, or rather manufactured goods, have been the dominant medium of exchange for centuries. However, recent decades have proved that it is no longer the case as there has been a prevalence of being service oriented (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:1-2). Services, as defined by Vargo and Lusch (2004), are  “the application of specialized competences (knowledge and skills) through deeds, processes, and performances for the benefit of another entity or the entity itself (p.2).” Utilizing services gives businesses an edge, a competitive advantage, particularly in an evolving competitive market, something which Metalfrio is definitely part of (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:9).  Those businesses that learn to adapt tend to do well. In addition, Vargo and Lusch (2004) write this shift to services is also a shift from producer perspective to a customer perspective (p.2). Thus, it leads to more of a collaborative effort where co-creation leads to adding value to the service rather than a product having value (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:6). Also, customers rather develop relationships with those that can provide a range of related services over an extended period of time, thus allowing businesses retain their clients for the long term (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:13). Overall, service oriented marketing is a direction that businesses should be headed towards to ensure that they can remain relevant and competitive in the

This case study came from the Case Study Research and Development Program at the Design Management Institute’s Center for Research. The Center conducts research and develops educational materials on the role of design and design management in business success. Case studies, the Design Management Journal, reprints from the Journal, and other educational materials are available from the Design Management Institute Press. Design Management Institute Press The Design Management Institute 29 Temple Place, 2nd Floor Boston, MA 02111-1350 USA Phone: 617-338-6380 Fax: 617-338-6570 Email: dmistaff@dmi.org Web site: www.dmi.org Harvard Business School Publishing

us to sell our products to different places like our provinces, which are: Bicol, Nueva Ecija, and Quezon Province until it meets the end customers who are considered as the users.

• Place – increase exposure within current distribution channels as well as increase number of channels

For many years businesses have outsourced some of their products and services to other companies in order to fulfill consumers’ demand for certain products or services. Despite many years of research, some companies still have trouble figuring out what they do best and what they cannot do so well (Parmigiani, 2007). Parmigiani (2007) also added that, even though firms create their own products or services, there are times when they go out and buy the same product or services. Regardless of how a firm obtains a product or service, there is a cost associated with each transaction. The firm incurs the cost of making or buying a product or service, which is determined by various

What quality programs, such as continuous improvement, has the company implemented to address quality in their operations?