Entrepreneurship in Action: Trimline's Business Case & Growth Strategy

This case study explores Trimline's entrepreneurial approach to international expansion, particularly focusing on the Asian market. It identifies key challenges and contextual factors, including market dynamics, competitive forces, and potential barriers to entry. A Porter's Five Forces analysis is conducted to assess the competitive landscape, highlighting the bargaining power of customers and suppliers, the threat of new entrants and substitute products, and the intensity of existing competition. The study also summarizes Trimline's competitive capabilities and explores business models for co-creating and delivering value. It evaluates the feasibility and potential impact of entrepreneurial options, justifying the implementation of a growth strategy while addressing issues such as low profit margins and the need for diversified revenue streams. The reflection component delves into the author's understanding of the case study, referencing feedback and relevant academic literature.

Running head: ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ACTION
Entrepreneurship in action
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Executive Summary
The following research paper deals in the entrepreneurial orientation of Trimline Company
which deals in the interior designing of different kinds of ships. The main aim of the
management of the company is to expand in the Asian markets which provide a lot of scope for
the business. The characteristics and environmental analysis that are to be considered in the
business are discussed here. A reflection on the same has been discussed in the second part of the
assignment.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Definition of the problems and identification of the key contextual factors and constraints..........4
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis..........................................................................................................6
Figure 1- Porter’s Five Forces Analysis..........................................................................................6
Barriers to Entry in the International Market..................................................................................7
Summary of competitive capabilities of the Company and the Business Models to co-create and
deliver value within the experience...............................................................................................10
Figure 2- Summary of Competitive Capabilities...........................................................................12
Evaluation of the ease of implementation and the potential impact of a single entrepreneurial
option.............................................................................................................................................12
Justification of the ease Implementation of a growth option.........................................................12
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................13
Introduction....................................................................................................................................13
Discussion......................................................................................................................................14
References and Bibliography.........................................................................................................16

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Introduction
The following report is prepared to provide an entrepreneurship plan for Trimline group
of industries while their expansion in the foreign countries (trimline.co.uk 2018). The report has
designed the entrepreneurship pathways where the strategies are framed in an effective manner
to provide the best services to the customers in refurbishment and designing of the marine
interiors. The management of the said organization has decided to expand internationally which
will provide them with lots of scope to earn more profitability. The growth strategies of the
organization will depend on the effectiveness of a robust international strategy.
Definition of the problems and identification of the key contextual factors and constraints
Trimline is a marine interiors company which is in operations for the last 50 years and is
a wide range of experience in designing interiors of ships, yachts, private boats and other such
marine transportation medium. The company is one of the leading industries in United Kingdom
in the following sector for the last five decades (trimline.co.uk 2018). The management of the
organization has decided in expansion of the business in international waters to be one of the
largest companies in marine interior designing in the world and also to increase its revenue. The
management of the company must have a proper knowledge of the market scenario of the host
country to make sure that the company has the adequate knowledge of the market conditions.
This will help the company to structure the strategies in an effective manner to gain a
competitive advantage. The company must also apply different technological innovations to
attract a large number of clients. Therefore the management of the company must focus on the
research and development process to be unique from the other similar companies operating in the
market. However the major issue lies in the allocation of funds for the process as the research
and development. Budget is one of the major issues that create problems for the company.

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Therefore funds need to be gathered gradually to establish the R&D facility. The company has to
also take care of the market responsiveness and the constant update on the technological
advancements. The implementation of different technologies on a timely basis can make them
superior to the other companies (Yu and Lee 2017). As of now the management of the mentioned
company also fails to market itself in the international markets which are not at all acceptable as
the company aims to be one of the top industries in the designing sector of marine transportation.
Thus a robust and dynamic marketing strategy needs to be implemented by the organization to
make it one of the best in the business. Apart from this the customers of the company must also
be convinced by fulfilling their needs and demands. Therefore proper marketing techniques are
the key to the success of the company in international waters.
However the biggest problem faced by Trimline is the share of profit in the market place.
The company has failed to increase their profit margin over the years and has fallen behind to
even new companies in the block. Apart from this the management of the organization has also
failed to diversify their business which helps in creation of an extra source of revenue. Such
extra source of revenue can be helpful in the long run as because it can provide the management
with enough money to invest on research and development process easily. The company must
also prepare itself to be fit enough to meet the demands of the market in peak seasons. The
success of the company will depend on its capability to deliver proper products at the proper
time.

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Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Figure 1- Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Source: (Ross 2017)
Porter’s five forces is one of the most important considerations for the company in the
view of its decision to expand its operations internationally. The following marketing tool
includes different dynamics like the competition in the market, power of the customers,
bargaining power of the suppliers as well as the customers, threat posed by new entrants and the
threat of substitute products. The analysis of the following forces in the market will be helpful
for the organization to consider their decision on entering new markets internationally. The goal
of the company is to introduce different ideas on how both the clients and the company can help
maintain a healthy industry. First and foremost the management of the company needs to identify
the potential clients of the business and also the local support.

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a. Clients- The potential clients must be identified by the management of the country as
because the clients need to be satisfied by the organization to maintain a healthy design
culture. The Asian clients are quite different in their approach, needs and choices and
thus a proper and trusted channel must be used to reach these clients.
b. Local Support- Apart from the client identification the management of the Company
must also identify and select the local support base that will be employed to help them
expand in the host country.
Barriers to Entry in the International Market
The management of the mentioned company must choose countries which provide a high
competition for market entry. The emerging Asian markets can be the best example of such
markets. A small number of entrants in the market ensure the possibility of greater profit.
This in turn helps to ensure sustainability in the business and provide the best solutions for
the industry. The barriers to the entry in the market are probably the weakest point for the
interior designing of the company. Barriers to entry will be created by four major factors
which includes the likes of;
 Legal Barriers that includes laws, rules, regulations, certificates and licenses that are
either to be adhered by or obtained in the host countries
 Incumbents that hold the pole position in the market of the host country can use price
cutting techniques to drive out new entrants from the market. This will create huge
problems for the company to gain a smooth entry into the market
 High costs are related while starting the business operations of the country. If the
designing is done or order has been taken for a big work it will be impossible for the

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company to replace or cancel it because of the huge cost involved. This has recently
happened in one of the European countries where the company cancelled the order at the
last moment which led to a huge loss for the organization.
 Incumbents have a strong competitive advantage in the market and thus gaining the trust
of their customers will be an arduous task for the organization.
Therefore the best way forward after entering the foreign market is to create a healthy
relationship with the customers and maintain the best possible quality for serving the
customers in the host country.
1. Bargaining power of customers- The less the control of buyers over the prices of the
materials the better for the company. This can lead to the loss of power from the hands of
the customer but on the other hand the tough competition in the market will force the
companies to innovate and design the best products to stay in the competition which will
be ultimately beneficial for the consumers. As the products of the industry are
differentiated from the other products in the market there are a selected number of buyers
who actually opts for their services. The clients are the one who helps the industry as
without them the company would have to shut down its operations.
2. Bargaining power of suppliers- The more the control of the company over their suppliers
the better. It is recommended for the company to not invest in a particular technology for
a large period of time as such an activity can be of high risk and can harm the goals of the
company to stay in the market for a long period of time. The market in Asia has less
number of suppliers and thus they do will not exert high bargaining pressure over the
management of the company. It is important for the organization to study the market
behaviors of the Asian suppliers. The Asian suppliers respect their culture too much and

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thus the management of the company must be accustomed to the cultural conceptions of
these countries to establish themselves in the following markets. The Management of the
company must employ locals in their business to make sure that they do not face any
cultural shock which in turn can damage the business opportunities.
3. Threat posed by new entrants in the market- The entry of the new companies in the
market provides huge challenge for the incumbents in the industry. This is because the
new entrants often bring with them the best technologies and the best innovative
techniques that help them to acquire the potential customers of the market. This makes
the existing companies more vulnerable as they tend to lose their market shares which
may result into huge losses for the Company. The management of the mentioned
company has to address the changes in the market conditions and must innovate new
technologies every now and then to keep a stronghold in the competitive market.
4. Threat posed by substitute products in the market- It is really easy to choose between
designing companies like the one mentioned here as because there are a selected few
companies that deals with the refurbishing and designing of the marine modes of
transportation. However choosing companies have now became much easier as because
many of the companies specialize in technology, technique to implement the project,
target audience of the organization. And style followed by the organization.
5. Competition among the existing companies- The presence of a robust and dynamic
industry leads to less competition in the market and leads to the formation of a new brand
of loyal customers for the organization. The task of the management of the organization
is to innovate new products that satisfy the wants of the customers and also stay
competitive in the market. It is important for Trimline to offer the highest quality of

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standards for the Asian Market. It can also try their luck in military warships as because
the military market has been on a rise in Asian countries like India and China. The
mentioned interior designing company must make sure to provide the best quality
products to maintain a competitive edge over the minimum number of competitors in the
industry (Ross 2017).
Summary of competitive capabilities of the Company and the Business Models to co-create
and deliver value within the experience
Trimline is one of the leading companies of the market that provides services towards the
refurbishment and maintenance of the shipping interior. The service provided by the following
organization has helped it to earn a loyal set of customers. The company has ensured the delivery
of the services on time which has also helped in the preparation of a proper budget. Business
models have been an integral part of the economic and trading behavior for a long time from
now. The advent of modern technologies has helped in the advancement of the business models.
The success of the business organizations depends on the organizational design and change in the
business models according to the demand of the shipping companies (Österman Praetorius and
Hult 2017). This may start from the micro level of the business to the macro level of the host
countries and the economic zones. Therefore the management of Trimline must concentrate on
formulating a proper and efficient business model to gain momentum in new markets of Asia.
The business model is generally created by three different steps namely;
 Value Creation- Value creation is one of the most basic elements of the formulation of
business model as because it clearly recognizes why and for whom the value is being
created. The absence of any value to the products and services of the company will lead

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to failure of the organization in the market. The main value that is delivered by the
company comes with the refurbishment and designing skills of the organization. Business System- The creation of value is utmost important for the management of the
company to gain success in the Asian markets. The cost of incorporating an effective
business system must be lower than that of the annual revenues of the Organization. Value Capture- The following provides the reasoning behind the creation of the value for
the products and services of the organization. Business Ecosystems- The recent developments in the area of the business ecosystems
suggests that while the business model frameworks are not suitable for the present set of
challenges faced by the organization.

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Figure 2- Summary of Competitive Capabilities
Source: (Österman Praetorius and Hult 2017)
Evaluation of the ease of implementation and the potential impact of a single
entrepreneurial option
As mentioned earlier Trimline is one of the leading shipping interior designing
organizations based in UK. The industry has been in service for the last 50 years and has
constantly served its customers which paved the way for a personal relationship with the clients
of the organization (Omorede and Axelsson 2018). Trimline if makes an entry into the Asian
markets can be a revolution itself as because no such companies offer such unique product and
services in Asia. According to, Kang et al. (2017) the clients of Asia usually depend on European
markets to refurbish the ships which incur a huge amount of money. The start of operations by
the mentioned company in Asia will help in the reduction of operational costs for the
organization. Thus the management of the organization must review the above report to get an
idea of the technical feasibility, business viability and stakeholder desirability of the organization
(Murto Person and Ahola 2014).
Justification of the ease Implementation of a growth option
The implementation of the main strategic ideas of the management is crucial to the
success of the business environment. The implementation of the business plan, campaign, or
project is dependent on the tactics, tools and strategies of the organization. The plan provided in
the following chapter is quite viable and compatible for the business organization. The
uniqueness of the following business along with the service it provides to the companies has
been the best in the business and helps to manage the business efficiently (Mohammed and