Introduction
Crescordia Company is a renowned manufacturer and supplier of medical-grade fixation devices. Some of the hardware equipment it makes includes metal plates, scalpels, pins, synthetic body parts, and screws. Orthopedic surgeons use the products to repair fractured bones and other injured skeletal tissues within the human body. The firm has a working program that allows medics to test and verify the manufactured tools, thus issuing immediate feedback for the business organization to improve on. The approach has played a significant role in influencing most orthopedic surgeons to value its products and use them exclusively. Currently, the supply market is becoming volatile, and other players in the industry have ventured into non-metal tools to be used for operations. The change to resorbable items has made Crescordia experience a drop in its market share.
Strategic Resources
Crescordia has remained the dominant supplier of medial-fixation devices in the industry over time. The available resources contribute to the ability to remain in this status that most competitors cannot easily access. The company possesses strategic aspects that are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and organizational, which grant it an exclusive competitive advantage in the market. Crescordia has many attributes that give it the potential to lead its rivals in the supply market. They include human resources, strong financial background, and a premium reputation.
Human Resource
Crescordia Company has a talented team dedicated to research and development, thus producing medical-fixation hardware of high quality. The items produced by the company are effective, and most orthopedic surgeons are motivated to use them due to their success rate. Having responsible workers who value their role and give their best is significant to the business organization (Amarakoon, Weerawardena, and Verreynne). Similarly, the leadership and commitment of Crescordia management have played an essential role in influencing most buyers to purchase the products from the company.
Financial Power
Investing and remaining effective in the supply market requires a strong capital base that can facilitate the production and research activities necessary to develop quality products. Crescordia has proved its ability to manufacture viable medical-fixation devices, implying its financial status can support its operations. The resource enables the company to further its product analysis, thus producing impeccable end products to the market. Similarly, the availability of enough financial attributes allows the business organization to create a practical program that helps different surgeons to test the materials before supply to the market. The technique facilitates the company’s ability to improve the items following the productive feedback they receive from the medics. Furthermore, capital makes it easier for the business organization to conduct extensive searches necessary to produce effective and reliable hardware.
Premium Reputation
Company’s reputation is an intangible resource that plays a significant role in its business success. The supply market of medical-fixation hardware contains many competitors offering similar products. To remain at the top of the industry, customers must trust the products in terms of quality and reliability to make them regular consumers of the materials. Crescordia Company has utilized this strategy by ensuring its items meet the needs of orthopedic surgeons whenever they use the materials. The consistency of quality of the hardware purchased from the firm has raised its status, making it one of the business organization whose products is valued by most of the medics in the market. This attribute has contributed to the growth of Crescordia in the supply industry.
Crescordia SWOT Analysis
Generally, the SWOT analysis framework is an essential tool that allows organizations to have deep insight into their strengths and existing weaknesses that require intervention to improve. Furthermore, it enables the management to understand the opportunities worth exploring and possible threats that can easily hinder the company from reaching its estimated objectives. Crescordia firm can use the tool to establish the relevant opportunities it can venture into to increase its overall operation in the market.
Strengths
Availability of Strong Financial Background
Crescordia Company has stable capital that is useful in facilitating its operations. The management can use the finances to invest in research and development towards understanding the emergence of new technology into the market. When the business devotes some of its investments to findings, it will readily comprehend the nature of resorbable, which is being introduced into the market. This will give the firm an advantage, thus allowing it to improve its productivity.
Production of Quality Products
The company is well known for its quality products in the supply market. It should continue investing in research to develop new effective techniques to help improve the status of items it offers to the customers. The reliability of the hardware would make it a more prominent and trusted supplier of orthopedic equipment in the industry. Crescordia should, therefore, maintain producing proper materials to advance its reputation in the market.
Weaknesses
Lack of Disposable Fixation Hardware
Crescordia’s main weakness is the failure to include disposable fixation products in its key product line. The items attract the attention of many users, making them opt for other suppliers offering the hardware. To improve on the failure, the business organization should consider introducing the materials amongst the available medical-fixation products. This would allow customers willing to test the effectiveness of the items to purchase them from the firm.
Poor Management Understanding
Crescordia is facing a crucial issue with its management team, where the key stakeholders have different opinions concerning the changes to be made. The such disparity makes it difficult for an organization to implement a strategy, whether it is viable or less effective. The continuous debate about ideas delays the firm’s progress to invest at the right time. Therefore, the company should align its directors to ensure easy flow and managerial responsibilities to improve this weakness.
Opportunities
Investing in New Technology
The company should take advantage of the advancement in technology to modernize its operation activities by producing a product that meets consumers’ current needs in the market. Crescordia should invest more in new engineering to manufacture contemporary medical fixation devices (Rizzarelli et al. 372). This approach would enable the firm to remain competitive in the supply market, where some of its rivals have already shifted by producing quality and effective products.
Invest in Resorbable Items
Changes in technology have prompted orthopedic surgeons to use different devices to perform their operations. Currently, most consumers are motivated to use biodegradable hardware to fix their fractured bodies. Crescordia should consider this movement an opportunity to invest in improving its market share. Based on its resource availability, the company can easily take the initiative to launch the resorbable as part of its product line to meet the demands of its loyal consumers.
Threats
New Entrants
The industry is vast and new firms may be attracted to invest in the market with increasing opportunities. This will increase competition, thus lowering the profit from the sales. To withstand the pressure from incoming companies, Crescordia should develop effective operational practices such as owning patent rights and formulating other measures, including cost leadership, to control the industry.
Changing Technology
Rapid technological change plays a vital role in influencing the production of medical-fixation devices. The modifications complicate the operation of Crescordia, making it lose its market share since most of its customers are attracted to test the viability of new engineering in the field. It is, therefore, necessary for Crescordia to upgrade its technology to fit in the current improvements. This will make it active in the industry for an extended period.
Based on the Crescordia business-level strategy, I think the company best fits the focused differentiation. The approach would allow the company to introduce unique features to its hardware for a target group. Assuming the firm chooses to focus on children, it can decide to launch the new technology to affect orthopedic practices and increase the effectiveness of its operations. Furthermore, the criteria would still enable the business organization to achieve cost leadership in the niche.
Recommendation
Following the current dilemma Crescordia is facing, I would recommend the firm launch and include resorbable on its line of products. Generally, undertaking a risky solution grants a company the perfect opportunity to improve. Crescordia has a significant reputation in the market, making the business organization advertise new items effectively. To minimize negative consequences Crescordia might face, the company must disclose to the customers the possible defects related to using the hardware to enable clients to make their own decision. This will reduce the blames, thus allowing the firm to maintain its reputation in the market. Crescordia should research extensively to improve the quality of its products.
Conclusion
In summary, Crescordia Company has positioned itself as the best manufacturer of medical-fixation devices. Orthopedic surgeons are attracted to the firm’s equipment, following their dominant reputation on quality. The organization should consider venturing into the production of resorbable hardware since most clients are scared of undertaking second surgery to remove the metals after complete recovery. Introducing the products would give the organization a competitive advantage due to its already conspicuous status in the market.
Works Cited
Amarakoon, Upamali, Jay Weerawardena, and Martie-Louise Verreynne. “Learning capabilities, human resource management innovation and competitive advantage.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 29.10 (2018): 1736-1766.
Rizzarelli, Paola, et al. “Analytical methods in resorbable polymer development and degradation tracking.” Materials for Biomedical Engineering. Elsevier, 2019, 351-408.
Appendices
Appendix A
Resource-Based View (RBV) VRIO Checklist (in a separate file).
Appendix B
SWOT Analysis