Business Strategies for A-1 Product Finishing
Michael J. Lezotte
Concordia University Wisconsin The A-1 Product finishing company has done very well in the past and has done great things with there local market and competition. After purchasing the company, the owner, Bill, has done quite remarkable for switching careers to something he knows nothing about. The company has many things that are impressive and will continue to make the company successful. For example, the company’s consistent high quality to put out a quality service keeps customers very happy and coming back over and over again. The reoccurring customers are a business’ best source of income from an accounting standpoint. Even though the company is at maximum capacity with the current customers, a business’ goal is to make the maximum amount of profits. One reason the company should continue look for opportunities to expand and give customers a high quality product. A-1’s desire to move to a new location may have consequences that may render the current success it is already having. Another large part that the company should expand and look into is the automotive market. The parts for the automotive industry need finishing and powdering. Finally, A-1 Product finishing should focus on their marketing strategy that could vastly expand the company and launch the company to next level that the owner and employees are looking for. A reason the company has been so successful is because A-1 consistently has high quality services at a price that is competitive to other finishing companies. The company should not stray from this business model because it has made the company what it is today. This business definition of high quality at competitive prices lets companies know how important A-1 is as an intermediary. A-1 consistently lets the target market know A-1 can finish and powder products better than they would be able to and be able to keep other company’s customers happy with quality products. The reason is because of Bill’s attention to detail and hard work. Bill’s idea of promoting from within gives his employees reason to work hard and take pride in the work they do. Continuing to do this will also help the company expand. This is one reason to look into buying or leasing a new building. As it was stated in the operations section of the companies report, A-1 is currently using one warehouse to do both finishing and powdering. Based on the income statement and the net income of the company, investing in a new building could greatly help the business. Although Bill is concerned about not being able to see the work that is being done around the shop, with closely located warehouses both the vice president and president can accurately assess the quality of work being done in both warehouses. With both warehouses located closely, the company would not lose touch with the current customer base that has made A-1 a success. Also, the A-1 can specialize in both finishing and powdering and reach out to new customers looking for custom jobs. The idea of expanding to new warehouse and maintaining a high quality product is very possible, especially with the employees knowing they can move up in the company and the owner being able to visually see the high quality product. This also allows the company to keep the company maintaining the current store hours. A-1 has a very defined customer base and should start looking into other markets that would apply to their target market. A possible submarket that would help expand A-1’s customer base is the after market automotive industry. This industry could prove to be the factor sending A-1 to the next level of the finishing and powder industry. Although the major automotive industries do the finishing in house or out source the work, targeting after market products and marketing to possible customers the high quality product that is offered by A-1. Not only would