Kraft Foods Inc: Strategic Planning and Management

• Kraft Foods Inc., is the largest food and beverage company in North America and the second largest in the world. Was founded in 1903 by James L. Kraft.

The Kraft Company has been around for a long time now. Personally I believe you must have a protective firm, not allowing other companies to steal your ideas and product. This will give the firm advantage over others.

Acquisition and organisation of resources can be critical success factor in an organization. While on the other hand, change requires a firm to gain expand and utilise resource such as human, financial, knowledge as a crucial asset. Resource based approach supports this view and as Tywoniak (2007) claimed by that resource based view is the most dominant theory in history of management. This is achieved by targeting state of sustained competitive advantage by controlling resources and capabilities. This view emphasis on the need for a ‘fit’ among capabilities and external market, and since each firm has unique capabilities and resources, this result in achieving strategic

The Cheesecake Factory is a successful restaurant in the urban areas in the United States of America (Kliman, 2006). The restaurant is popular because of the large proportions of food that it offers as well as its large menu. The company usually hires professional and qualified staff. This makes the company have fancy during service (Gabriel, 2008). The company has 165 restaurants in 29 states of the United States. David Overton founded the company in 1978. Since then, the company started growing a t high rate. The company later expanded to Middle East. There is a high expectation that the company will expand to other parts of the world in the near future. If this happens, the company will among the most successful company in the world

the internal analysis of the firm and the external analysis of the industry and competitive environment

The company may now be known as just Kraft Foods Group but the slogans “make today delicious” and the old statements about healthy enjoyable food still stands true. Just like everything in life, things must adapt and grow with time. So being the best food and beverage company means having healthy and delicious food.

As I mentioned above, Mondelez was created to fit a need that Kraft Foods Inc. had to increase their growth globally. Kraft Foods Inc. established their name in 2007 when they broke apart from Altria Group. Kraft became the second-largest processed food company in 2012 with annual revenues of more than $54 billion in 2012 (Gamble, 2016). However, significant growth in the company was not much different from that in 2007 when they became independent. It is the belief of the company’s upper management and board that the reason for their stagnation was due to the fact that their corporate strategy was not focused on the growth of the company.

Trader Joe’s is a leading firm that is taking over the supermarket industry. The company completely altered the idea of a traditional supermarket and turned it into a whole new experience for consumers. Through Trader Joe’s strategic planning, they’ve paved a way for consumers to have high-quality products while paying low prices. Trader Joe’s provides fewer products that are health-conscious, unique and privately labeled. Trader Joe’s has utilized this, secrecy, employee job satisfaction, culture and starting trends to its advantage. Within its industry companies are divided into different strategic groups. Aldi, similar Trader Joe’s strategic planning, is apart of the cultured-discount neighborhood market. This firm continues the low-stock, less-waste, small store, and low price method. A Walmart express used a hybrid strategy that made it a cross between a grocery, pharmacy, and convenience store. Tesco is the third that falls with small neighborhood markets strategy and focused on organic products, similar to Trader Joe’s. As the company grows and expands, there is caution in change of Trader Joe’s processes. With growth, there comes new management and employees which can alter the way a specific store is ran and there is worry of change in the stores normal procedures. Change that doesn’t follow the process could ultimately result in a downfall, so this can be considered a key challenge to watch in the future. Increased bureaucracy is additionally a

Selecting a business strategy that details valuable resources and distinctive competencies, strategizing all resources and capabilities and ensuring they are all employed and exploited, and building and regenerating valuable resources and distinctive competencies is key. The analysis of resources, capabilities and core competencies describes the external environment which is subject to change quickly. Based off this information a firm has to be prepared and know its internal resources and capabilities and offer a more secure strategy. Furthermore, resources and capabilities are the primary source of profitability. Resources entail intangible, tangible, and human resources.

The authors stated that, “Kraft Foods was the second largest food company in the world and the largest food company in the United States,” (Kerin & Peterson, 2010). A.1. Steak Sauce is a condiment “power house” in the Kraft portfolio that made incomparable profits for the company. Lawry’s, one of Kraft’s long-lasting competitors, endeavors to get a jump on the Holiday weekend (Memorial Day) at Publix to attain the ad and market their new product. Once notified, Kraft must lucidly make calculated decisions (SWOT analysis) as to how they will counteract Lawry’s new launch so they don’t

With giants such as Walmart, and Kroger running the grocery store industry it’s difficult for companies such as Smuckers to bargain for shelf-space and prices. Brand name items drawn to the center of the store are what leverages these companies to succeed in the industry. After numerous acquisitions and strategic alliances, Smuckers developed a solid core of product lines which experienced success rapidly. Product lines that experienced the most success as a result of strong positioning in the industry included their Coffee labels, flour and baking products, Oils and food spreads. A 9-Cell Industry Attractiveness/Business Strength Matrix shows that the Industry attractiveness is relatively moderate. With many competitors and strong buyer power from large grocery chains such as Kroger, companies such as Smuckers have explored different strategies that have proved successful in what can be described as a saturated industry. The case insinuates that there may be opportunities in the industry in regards to special markets and perhaps Oils and Baking with sugar free products, but otherwise the recession, although it drove families to buy store bought as opposed to eating out, has had its effects on the food service industry as well.

that made the first Kroger store successful in 1883 – service, selection and value – continue to

Brand building, consumer health and wellness, and advertising and promotions were all critical to success in the industry. Kraft’s ability to compete with lower priced snacks showed its ability to differentiate itself from other lower priced competitors.

As aforementioned, Nestlé is the leading company in nutrition, healthcare and wellness, offering nutritious products for every moment and age. It is the largest food and beverages conglomerate in the world, with a portfolio covering almost every food and beverage category, providing consumers a multitude of products to choose from.

The company as a whole was performing poorly. This led to a shake-up of executive management in 2006, with Irene B. Rosenfeld installed as chief executive officer (CEO). Rosenfeld had previously worked at Kraft for 22 years before leaving in 2003 to head Frito-Lay North America. In early 2007, Rosenfeld outlined a strategy to turn the company around that included product quality, research and development (R&D), and acquisitions as critical to the future growth of the company. Rosenfeld hired cutting-edge business leaders such as Khosla to help create the strategy that would change the way Kraft Foods Inc. does business.