Enterprise System Strategy

Running head: ENTERPRISE SYSTEM STRATEGY
Enterprise System Strategy
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1ENTERPRISE SYSTEM STRATEGY
Introduction
Competitive advantage in businesses can be considered as an attribute, which allows
the organizations to outperform their competitors. According to Scarborough (2016),
competitive advantages generally include the accessibility to the natural resources like low-
cost power sources or high grade ores, geographic location, highly skilled labor, accessibility
to new technology and high entry barriers. It can be said that the competitive advantage of
any company helps in leveraging the business over their competitors. This can also be gained
by providing the clients with greater and better values. Advertising services and products
with higher quality as well as lower prices interests the customers.
Competitive advantage has a very little to do with the accessibility to technology.
Enterprise systems are one of the most adopted technologies in businesses and without this; it
would be difficult for the firms to achieve competitive advantage. The companies do use their
Enterprise Systems Strategy in order to achieve the competitive advantage. The purpose of
this essay is to select three major strategies in order to discuss how an Enterprise System can
allow a firm to achieve their competitive advantage. In addition to this, the report also
consists of two different industrial examples for each strategic approach selected for
supporting the overall discussion.
Discussion
The essay mainly focuses on the developed nations, arguing that information
technology when used efficiently and effectively helps to bring in better quality of the
products, greater speed and flexibility. In addition to this, the first mover advantage also
helps in reducing the cost impact of information technology, which is of secondary
importance. For example; the organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
experience with the information technology has been mixed, which is often disillusioning.
The nations along with their well developed infrastructures, telecommunications
infrastructures, national computer and substantial resources have however, failed to develop
the universal rules of applying information technology in a successful manner (Laudon and
Laudon 2016).
The obstacles are regulatory and managerial, but not technological. The
unpreparedness by the companies, lack of standards, regulatory barriers and other factors tend

2ENTERPRISE SYSTEM STRATEGY
to inhibit the diffusion of information technology. Enterprise systems can be regarded as one
of the most adopted technologies in businesses. Without this technology, the firms will not be
able to achieve the competitive advantage. Three different strategies are being chosen in
order to discuss how the enterprise system strategy allows a company to achieve the
competitive advantage. These three strategies are; cost leadership strategy, differential
strategy and the focus strategy. The cost leadership strategy depends on the ability of the
business to produce a service, which will be at the lower costs, than that of its competitors
(Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta 2016).
For instance; Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut produces same kind of products and
offers same type of services to its target customers. In addition to this, their target audience is
more or less same. Both the businesses are each other’s competitors. However, Domino’s
pizza has a wide range of products at much affordable prices for the lower and middle class
groups. Lower costs helps in generating higher profits as the businesses still make a
reasonable profit on each service or good sold. Therefore, it helps in providing the price value
to its target customers. Same is the case of Domino’s Pizza as Porter suggested that finding a
less cost base like materials, facilities and labor will help a business yield better outcomes
(Grant 2016).
This also benefits the business on the long run as it gives the company a lower
manufacturing expense over their competitors. In addition to this, the company can also add
values to the customers by transferring the cost benefits to them. Another example of cost
leadership strategy is what Burger King has undertaken in order to compete with its big time
competitor KFC. The food joint has introduced a huge range of menu for their target
customers, which are affordable without compromising the quality of the food. This strategy
helps the businesses in gaining more and more advantage over its competitors (Suri 2016).
The second strategy is the differential strategy which gives a differential advantage
to the business’s services and products that are different from its competitors. Michael Porter,
in his theory, explained that those services and goods which are more attractive, stands out
from their tough competitors. However, it is immensely important for the businesses to
conduct a strong market research in order to design as well as develop innovative ideas.
These particular improvements to the services and goods can also help in delivering high
quality products to the customers. In addition to this, if any customer sees a service or