Business Essentials: Competitive Positioning of Greencore Plc

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the competitive positioning of Greencore Plc, a prominent food manufacturing company in the UK. The study delves into the company's strategies, focusing on Porter's Generic Strategies, including cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies, to understand how Greencore Plc can gain a competitive advantage over its competitor, Sainsbury's Plc, within the UK food industry. The report evaluates key functional areas such as human resources, marketing, accounting and finance, and logistics, and supply chain management, to determine how these aspects contribute to Greencore's competitive edge. It offers recommendations for strengthening the company's position in the market and concludes by emphasizing the importance of strategic positioning for sustainable competitive advantage. The report is based on the 'Business Essentials: Extended Project' assignment brief and follows the Roehampton Harvard Referencing system.

RUNNING HEAD: COMPETITIVE POSITIONING 0
2020
Competitive Positioning
Student’s Details-

COMPETITIVE POSITIONING 1
Introduction
Competitive positioning is related with defining of the company’s offerings differently
which can help the customers to easily differentiate from other firms in the industry. The
business requires to have an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses which
can be significantly be used to make use of opportunity and avoid the future threats
(Ibidunn, et al., 2015). The report will throw light on the competitive positioning of the
Greencore Plc Group which is the renowned food company of Ireland. It is the
manufacturing company of UK which facilitates convenience goods and have the vision
of the making differentiation through the serving of great food, achieving excellence and
adopting sustainable practices (Greencore, 2020). The selected competitor for the
analysis is Sainsbury’s Plc as it is the largest supermarket of United Kingdom. The
report will discuss the Porter’s Generic Strategies for the competitive positioning which
has derived the ways by which the company can get the competitive advantage. Also,
the analysis of the combination of the functional areas which are to be determined and
being strengthened for the earning of the competitive advantage.
Porter’s Generic Strategies for Competitive Positioning
It is crucial for the business to get the competitive advantage through the use of the
distinct value proposition which can persuade the customers to buy the product. This
requires the competitive positioning in which the company determines the level
profitability made by the company in relation to other competitors within the same
industry (Gellweiler, 2018). Moreover, it is important for Greencore Plc to provide the
distinctive values in terms of products and services that the company provides in order
to place themselves in front of competitor such as Sainsbury Plc in order to get the
market share. For this the company can use the Porter’s Generic Strategies which can
be helpful svfor the company to get the sustainable competitive advantage over
Sainsbury and other competitors within the retailing industry. Moreover, Porter’s
Generic Strategies is framework which can be applied to all products and services
across all the industries and takes into account the four generic strategies in narrow and

COMPETITIVE POSITIONING 2
broad target market (Ho, 2016). The following is the explanation of four strategies which
can be used by Greencore Plc:
Cost Leadership Strategy
Cost leadership is the most effective strategy which can be used by the company by
becoming the lowest producer of the market. This allows the company to make mass
production of the products in which cost is cut during the production process (D. Banker,
et al., 2014). Moreover, Greencore Plc can use this strategy by becoming the lowest
cost producer of the retailing industry and will help them in getting the market share by
earning competitive advantage. This strategy can certainly help the company to get the
competitive advantage through making higher sales through the efficient utilization of
the resources. Also, the company makes the access to the distribution channels and
make use of the bargaining cost to negotiate on the lower cost. This is the effective
strategy which can be used by the company to take cost advantage to make a
command over the industry.
Differentiation Strategy
Further another generic strategy which can be adopted by Greencore Plc is
differentiation strategy in which the company attempts to make new and innovative
products for getting a substantial market share. The company can specifically focus on
the broad market to attain the competitive positioning at a larger level. The company
can focus on the development of new and unique products which are can easily be
differentiated from Sainsbury and will certainly help the company to get company to get
the competitive advantage and make business expansion (Pehrsson, 2016). The
company can also use premium prices and make the product features appealing for the
customers. Moreover, focusing on the superior quality and making use of effective
branding and advertising can help the company to distinguish the offerings from the
competitors.
Cost Focus Strategy
This is regarded as the cost focus strategy which helps the company to get the lower
cost advantages. This focus strategy can be used by Greencore Plc by placing
emphasis on lower cost segment. This strategy can be useful for the company to get the

COMPETITIVE POSITIONING 3
sufficient amounts of profits among limited customers. The company can focus on
providing the food products to the households who demand for lower prices. This
focusing on the narrow market through the identification of unique needs of that market
which can help the company to make strong brand loyalty (Bell, et al., 2017). The main
objective of this strategy is to focus on the niche markets to get the higher sales.
Moreover, the features of the products are tailored with the needs and preferences of
the niche markets.
Differentiation Focus Strategy
This strategy aims to make the differentiation into the products for selling the products
to a smaller target market which has limited number of customers. Here, Greencore Plc
can easily identify the needs and preferences of the customers as focus is on the lower
market. In this way, the company can easily differentiate themselves from others and
tend to focus on the wider population. The company in this case can use the niche
marketing strategy through making the market segments for focusing on the needs of
the customers and make the product differentiated for the satisfaction of their diverse
needs. This strategy is suitable for addressing the needs of the customers through the
exploitation of the special needs of the customers within the smaller market segment
which can help the company to get the competitive advantage over the rival firms
(Islami, et al., 2020).
Evaluating Functional Areas
Functional areas are the aspects of business which defines the various functions of the
organization for accomplishing the business objectives. These functions should be
analyzed in order to get the competitive advantage and overcome the competitors on
the basis of the unique strengths which the company already has. The following are the
combination of functional areas of Greencore Plc.
Human Resources
Human resources are crucial part of the business which aim to make the production
process fulfilled and undertake the functions. The organizations hire and retain the
skilled employees who will perform the business operations. Moreover, Greencore Plc

COMPETITIVE POSITIONING 4
makes the hiring of people who will perform the operations and facilitate the services to
the customers. The company aims at attracting the talented and passionate people who
can help the company to drive future. The company makes the engagements with its
3000 employees and harness a culture that provides a great place to work (AP News,
2018). This are aims at making use of appropriate training for the higher skill efficiency
and also improving the efficiency of the service delivered which can make the
customers satisfied.
Marketing
This is related with making promotion and awareness the brand for attracting the
customers towards the brand. This is also related with the identification of the target and
markets and making efforts through the marketing tactics for reaching the desired target
market and satisfying them with the quality services and products. The purpose of this
functional area is to increase the awareness and make more people aware of the c
company’s offerings. This also involves the use of market research tools which can be
helpful in the identification of desired target market and maintain a competitive
positioning which can facilitate the company to attain the competitive edge. Moreover,
Greencore has made the strategy for making the products highly sustainable and are
highly focused on achieving excellence. The company makes the wide range of
products and focus improving the market share through the appropriate marketing
efforts (Financial TImes, 2020).
Accounting and Finance
This functional area is related with the management of finance into all the business
operations. This is responsible for managing the money going in and out of the
business. This seeks to determine the appropriate allocation of funds in certain areas
and improving the performance through the maintenance of adequate funds (Ekpo, et
al., 2017). In the case of the Greencore Plc, the company as the accounting and finance
department which makes crucial decisions relating to finance and also take care of
potential financial needs of the company. This area is important amongst all other areas
as it elaborates the finance required for the management of the financial requirements
and establishment of the fulfilment of long-term requirements of the business. This is

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related with the raising of finance and the management of the budgets and preparing of
the final accounts.
Logistics and Supply Chain
This area aims to make the supply of the products in such a way that it reaches to the
customer at the right time and by making use of the channel of distribution which can
make possible the appropriate delivery of the products. There are certain factors by
which the supply chain can be maintained. Greencore Plc use the sustainable supply
chain management and also make use of the supply chain management for getting the
products delivered on timely basis (Greencore Group, 2017). The company has
maintained efficient supply chains and maintained the relationships with the suppliers
which can be helpful for the company to deliver their products on timely basis and also
helping the company to get the competitive advantage through higher customer
satisfaction.
Recommendation
From the above analysis, it can be recommended that Greencore Plc must make the
efforts for getting the competitive advantage through the successful positioning of the
products in relation with the competitor Sainsbury (David & David , 2016). The company
can make use of the Porter’s Generic Strategies which can be used under the retailing
market. The company should also make use of these strategies in such a way that there
are chances of the profitability and maintaining a competitive position in the retailing
industry. Also, the recommendation can also be given in terms of development of
differentiated products which can later be helpful in the driving of a competitive edge.
Moreover, it is crucial for the company to make standardized and superior quality
products which can be helpful for the company to protect the switching cost (Anthony,
et al., 2016). Further, there are recommendations for the improvements into the
functional areas which can be helpful for the company to undertake the processes
efficiently and building sustainable position in the marketplace.

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Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that competitive positioning can be crucial for the company
as it provides the opportunity for the company to make the position of the products
which can be helpful for the company to get the sustained competitive advantage. This
requires the use of set of strategies which can help the company to make distinctive
image in front of the customers. Here, the report has been prepared with the
competitive positioning of Greencore Plc and the use of the generic strategies which
can be helpful for the company to get the sustainable competitive advantage over
Sainsbury Plc. The company can determine the level of profitability and also level of
competitive stake within the retailing industry. The company can use these strategies in
a broad and narrow target market. Also, the report has discussed the combination of
functional areas.

COMPETITIVE POSITIONING 7
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