Executive Summary

Sustaining Competitiveness

Sustainable competitiveness is an essential element in any corporate strategic plan and is necessary for assuring survival and growth of any business. Businesses operate in a very dynamic environment be it local, regional or global. The business executive assigned for the strategic planning must also be responsible for implementing the key components of the plan. The heart of the strategic plan is the information on competitors, their strengths, weaknesses, and their key reasons for success. Analyzing these data will provide the ingredients to develop the strategic plan for sustainable competitiveness.

Strategic planning process involves innovative approaches. Dynamic elements in the competitive business processes must be monitored diligently and decisions implemented immediately. Emerging markets and enabling technologies should be evaluated often and their appropriateness should be considered as the key elements of the plan and decisions implemented without any delay. For sustainability (and survivability) and for continued growth, business performances be monitored regularly and actions taken as necessary to continue sustainable operation(s).

Innovation in operational techniques and monitoring customer behavior are important elements in today’s business environment. It is essential that the operational programs be augmented and possibilities re-assessed or re-imagined immediately. Business leaders should be prepared to venture out of their normal roadmaps and be ready to demonstrate foresightedness in developing competitiveness enhancement.

Survivability, sustainability, and profitability are few daily challenges in any businesses that are involved in manufacturing products or providing services. Appropriate market research can assist in developing directions for understanding competitive fundamentals and the requirements for growths. Continuous improvement process is a technique for customizing functionality in any roadmaps. And, informed decision making is fundamental to creating winning business operation. Assessments of supply-chain-assets and optimizing those are important for maximizing revenue (profitability) and for readiness to take advantages of any M & A possibilities.

We live, work, and operate in global environment. The strategic plan for sustainable-competitiveness must include all possible activities in global context. Customer-care assessment and market intelligence are at the heart of sustainability and focused attention be given for implementation of any remedial actions. Where applicable, branding and brand opportunity marketing needs to be considered for competitiveness.

Businesses, such as energy, oil & gas, and manufacturing goods have adopted technologies that provide competitive advantages and growth. These include enabling technologies and techniques that would enhance cost reduction, energy savings, loss prevention, and improved product quality. The technologies are improved every day bringing additional enhancement to business operation. Businesses often miss recognizing these benefits. In addition, there are emerging technologies that could bring enhanced potential benefits to the businesses in the near-term basis. These technologies could help businesses become more competitive or create new products for a market segment. Businesses can accelerate by applying smart technologies such as digitization and automation thus enabling product-life-cycle faster, safer, and cheaper. Transformational technologies that are now being developed or tested would have commercial application in five-to-ten years.

The business leaders would benefit from sharpening their capabilities through capacity building and targeted learning processes. These industry leaders can serve as the point-person in their own business and become the “expert” to make their business sustainable and enable them to survive though the challenges in the dynamic market environment be it local, regional or global. In addition, industry consultants are available to assist in-house experts in demonstrating the process and techniques involved in developing the strategic plan.

Smart tools and techniques are available now to provide assistance in digitization, artificial-intelligence, machine learning, digital-twins, internet-of-things, and cyber security. Smart cloud based software are being developed and systems integration expertise are also available. Techniques for Life-Cycle-Evaluation should be considered appropriate for sustainability.

The in-house expert (and the industry consultant) must have process operational knowledge of the business. Operational technologies such as automation, optimization, process integration, energy conservation, resource-recovery and waste minimization do assist industrial sectors in making them sustainable and competitive. Their expertise must also include experience in risk analysis, aversion, and mitigation techniques. The strategy for creating the sustainable plan is similar for all most all the industrial sectors including for energy/power (coal, oil, and gas fired, geothermal and renewable such as biomass, solar, and wind), chemicals, petroleum gas processing and oil refining, petrochemicals, iron & steel, pulp & paper and manufacturing processes.

Service Methodology

Once a Client Company is interested, the AGC Consultant will have phone discussions with them. The Consultant will then develop the proposed Program outline and share it with the Client for review and comments. The Consultant will them update the Plan and then use it during the Program.

It is recommended that the Program starts with Bronze level and during that period the Consultant will prepare the Program in details. Once the Client Company accept the Program and its approach and methodology, the service delivery can be increased gradually to the highest level. The Client Company does have the flexibility in proceeding according to their own pace. This CIG provides the details of implementation for the desired results.

Service Options

Companies can elect whether they just require Appleton Greene for advice and support with the Bronze Client Service, for research and performance analysis with the Silver Client Service, for facilitating departmental workshops with the Gold Client Service, or for complete process planning, development, implementation, management and review, with the Platinum Client Service. Ultimately, there is a service to suit every situation and every budget and clients can elect to either upgrade or downgrade from one service to another as and when required, providing complete flexibility in order to ensure that the right level of support is available over a sustainable period of time, enabling the organization to compensate for any prescriptive or emergent changes relating to: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Information Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing; or Production.

Service Mission

The strategic and sustainable competitiveness plan for the Client Company must satisfy their desired requirements. The ideal plan should be flexible or agile enough for continuous improvement. The details of the plan will vary based on the business, industrial sector, and the country (or the region) where the Client would be operating. The plan must be kept current and reviewed frequently and updated for currency. The plan be appropriate for the baseline(s) established, the targeted competitiveness, fulfilling the requirements, and the sustainability desired.

The plan will address appropriate details including (1) Products along with technologies (current & emerging); (2) Markets (local, regional, global); (3) Customer Care (feedback surveys, review of comments, complaints mitigation, product enhancement, pricing policy reviews, etc); ( 4) Distribution (including supply-chain and warehousing); (5) Business Partners (strengths and weaknesses); (6) Competition (strengths, weaknesses, and agility); (7) Market Entry (and Barriers); (8) Budgeting and fund Utilization; (9) Financing; (10) Road Maps and Milestones; (11) Profitability (12) Sustainability; (13) Valuation; and (14) Investors’ rewards.

The Plan will be well defined or specified matching customer preferences. The technology or technologies being used must be well defined so that, if required the Client can understand its superiority or weaknesses. The plan should identify any emerging technology planned for use in the future with timing for the change-over. The local, regional, global markets shall be well identified or specified with all of its characteristics. The customers and their product preferences and pricing desired would be recognized. Customer feedback surveys with timing will be identified and specified. Feedback comments be reviewed quickly, and complaints resolved very quickly. Also, based on customer feedback the products quality improved and pricing policy reviewed and adjusted, if and when appropriate. The distribution logistics will be well defined for supply-chain and warehousing-assets optimization. The market entry activities (and barriers), should be well defined, and adjusted when implemented.

The plan will specify any business partners being used. Detailed information on these partners should be stated including their strengths and weaknesses. The details in the plan must provide appropriate data on Competition. All appropriate financial information will be included in the plan. Budgeting and fund utilization guidelines will be included in the plan The plan will include the milestone when certain activities are supposed to be taking place. The road-maps with milestones would allow improvement(s) when appropriate. The Client Company’s asset and the valuation will be developed for sharing with their stakeholders. It is more so if this Client is a publicly held company. So, the sustainability of the competitiveness is always at the shareholders mind and should be held at the very top considerations.

Service Objectives

The following list represents the Key Service Objectives (KSO) for the Appleton Greene Sustaining Competitiveness service.

1. Establishing Baselines
   The existing strategic plan, if available must be reviewed to understand the operation of the business. Understanding current practices, along with why and how the plan was developed are key elements of competitive sustainability. Also, considerations must be focused on evaluating how the business would be operating in the future. Baseline assessment starts with business history, particularly understanding the strengths and weaknesses during adverse business conditions. Baselines should include complete assessment of the goals and objectives; products and pricing; markets and customers; revenue stream(s); budgeting and budget performance; capital development programs; competitor’s strengths and weaknesses; own management team expertise; business partners and their capabilities and commitments; valuation; and the investors’ requirements. Businesses in energy, oil & gas, and manufacturing of goods have adopted certain technologies that assure competitive advantages and growth. These include enabling technologies that enhance cost reduction, energy savings, loss prevention, and product quality. Emerging technologies can help businesses becoming more competitive or creating new products. Most often, businesses can benefit from application of smart technologies such as digitization and automation in creating products that are faster, safer, and cheaper. It is important to establish the baselines with the technologies that are being used every day. It is also important to understand the enhancements that are being planned for these technologies in near-term basis. The businesses need to develop accurate baselines to assess the benefits the emerging technologies offer. The business leaders often are busy with daily activities and do not have time to observe market trends or changes that are taking place requiring operational course adjustment. Data gathering methodology and accuracy of data collected are paramount importance to the effectiveness of the strategic plan development. Certain data should be validated (or evaluated) before use. The baseline data needs to be reviewed by a third party, preferably by someone who would be looking from outside. In many instances, millions of dollars are saved using this practice. Industry consultants are available to assist in this process and they can help in selecting the techniques involved for estimating the potential benefits these can bring.
2. Targeting Competitiveness
   Targeting competitiveness involves full understanding of the market dynamics including customer preferences and the competitors. This analysis should not only identify the competitors, but also have understanding on how they operate and react to certain market changes. The models so developed would then be tested with different scenarios. Based on the analysis, the business need to prioritize and build alternatives for developing requirements for sustainability. Price competitiveness includes price advantages and price transparency. Customer preferences with payment options are keys to quick response pricing. Communication with customers is very important for setting pricing. Smart tools and techniques such as digitization and artificial-intelligence with cyber security are important to an operational system. Appropriate techniques are then set for judging suitability for sustenance. The in-house expert and the industry consultant shall work together. Collectively, they must have the operational knowledge and know-how. Operational technologies including automation, optimization, process integration, energy conservation, resource-recovery, waste minimization are keys to sustainability. The industry consultant brings the required experience from the industries such as energy/power (coal, oil, and gas fired, geothermal and renewable such as biomass, solar, and wind), chemicals, petroleum gas processing and oil refining, petrochemicals, iron & steel and pulp & paper. The consultant also brings experience in risk analysis, aversion, and mitigation techniques.
3. Establishing Requirements
   Identifying appropriate requirements are essential in developing an effective Sustainable Competitiveness Plan. Successful requirements determination depends on several key issues. Customers are king and they basically identify (or demand) the requirements for the product quality, reliability, and the price they are willing to pay. The price competitiveness, reputation in the market, and brand names are also important to customers. On-time delivery and top service are important to keeping the customers satisfied. The requirements also include product safety and environmental impacts. Other criteria that are important to determining the requirements include strategic marketing approaches and innovative techniques to product design or services. Essentially, the key requirements include profitability, sustainability and competitiveness. The elements that influence profitability are production capability, cost of production, costs for borrowing capital when needed, and finally the desired profit margins. Profitability is also influenced by production efficiency, access to appropriate raw-materials at the right price, inventory turnover, application of smart technologies, and intellectual property protection. In developing the appropriate requirements for the sustainable competitiveness plan the industry consultant must have working knowledge of operational technologies that include asset optimization, process integration, energy conservation, resource-recovery, waste minimization, and effective supply-chain utilization. The consultant needs to bring with him/her considerable industry experience on the appropriate industry sector. The industry sector could be anyone from energy/power (coal, oil, and gas fired, geothermal and renewable such as biomass, solar, and wind), chemicals, petroleum gas processing and oil refining, petrochemicals, iron & steel, or pulp & paper manufacturing.
4. Analyzing Sustainability
   Sustainability analysis begins with understanding of business Strengths, internal Weaknesses; external Opportunities and recognizing external Threats. The information collected could be used in SWOT matrix development and analysis. Understanding its strengths and weaknesses of its assets, products, systems, technology and people, as a minimum are keys to the evaluation. The information on supply chain assets and their capability are also critical to business sustainability analysis. The information on any special situation such as unique products, special skills, superior technology, optimum cost, focused operation, and superior logistics that help supporting sustainable operation in the future. Also, data on customers, market trend, competitors, political/social risks, and technologies used are essential to evaluate opportunities and threats. The information collected help making better decisions. It also helps developing focused plan with sustainable values. It is essential to identify early the critical success factors. Prudent approach should be developing the SWOT chart and validating critical points initially, adding complexity gradually. It will help developing the value propositions first and demonstrating their benefits to the customers, as appropriate. It is expected that these values cannot be matched by competitors. Continuous market evaluation and analysis are keys to sustainability. Market trends are essential to validate the forecast and in identifying knowledge gap. Most difficult aspect of sustainability is unpredictability in forecasting regulatory environment and global competition. Key to all of these are listening, understanding, and communicating to the right party and sooner the better.
5. Sustainable Competitiveness
   The strategic and sustainable competitiveness plan is the ultimate outcome of the consulting service. The ideal plan should be flexible or agile enough for continuous improvement. The details of the plan will vary based on the business, industrial sector, and the country (or the region) where the business would be operating. The plan must be kept current and reviewed frequently and updated for currency. The plan be appropriate for the baseline(s) established, the targeted competitiveness, fulfilling the requirements, and the sustainability desired. The plan needs to address appropriate issues including (1) Products along with technologies (current & emerging); (2) Markets (local, regional, global); (3) Customer Care (feedback surveys, review of comments, complaints mitigation, product enhancement, pricing policy reviews, etc); ( 4) Distribution (including supply-chain and warehousing); (5) Business Partners (strengths and weaknesses); (6) Competition (strengths, weaknesses, and agility); (7) Market Entry (and Barriers); (8)Budgeting and fund Utilization; (9) Financing; (10) Road Maps and Milestones; (11) Profitability (12) Sustainability; (13) Valuation; and (14) Investors’ rewards. The Product or products of the business must be well defined or specified matching customer preference. The technology or technologies being used must be well defined so that, if required the industry can understand its superiority or weaknesses. The plan should identify any emerging technology planned for use in the future with timing for the change-over. The local, regional, global markets shall be well identified or specified with all of its characteristics. The customers and their product preferences and pricing desired should be recognized. Customer feedback surveys with timing should be identified and specified. Feedback comments be reviewed quickly, and complaints resolved very quickly. Also, based on customer feedback the products quality improved and pricing policy reviewed and adjusted, if and when appropriate. The distribution logistics should be well defined for supply-chain and warehousing-assets optimization. The market entry activities (and barriers), should be well defined, and adjusted when implemented. The plan needs to specify any business partners being used. Detailed information on these partners should be stated including their strengths and weaknesses. The details in the plan must provide appropriate data on Competition. All appropriate financial information should be included in the plan. Budgeting and fund utilization guidelines should be in the plan and direction should be included on the approval authority. The plan should include the milestone when certain activities are supposed to take place. The road-maps with milestones should allow improvement(s) when appropriate. The business is the stakeholders’ asset and the valuation is very important to them. It is more so if this business is a publicly held company. So, the sustainability of the competitiveness is always at the shareholders mind and should be held at the very top considerations.