Business Strategy: ALDI's Strategic Analysis, Planning, and Growth

This assignment provides a comprehensive analysis of ALDI's business strategies, evaluating its mission, vision, objectives, and core competencies in relation to strategic planning. It examines factors influencing ALDI's strategic plans, including techniques like the BCG growth matrix, and conducts organizational and environmental audits using Porter's Five Forces. The report assesses the significance of stakeholder analysis in formulating new strategies for ALDI, proposes a new strategy for the company, and analyzes appropriate growth strategies for market entry and expansion. Furthermore, it evaluates the roles and responsibilities of personnel in strategy implementation, analyzes resource requirements, and assesses the contribution of SMART targets to achieving strategic objectives. The analysis includes ALDI's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, providing a detailed overview of its strategic position and potential future direction, with the goal of enhanced market share and customer targeting.

Business Strategy
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Part 1..........................................................................................................................................5
a) Provide an assessment of the extent to which Aldi’s missions, visions, objectives, goals,
core competencies inform strategic planning. (AC1.1).........................................................5
b) Analyse the factors to be considered by Aldi when formulating their strategic plans.
(AC 1.2)..................................................................................................................................7
c) Using evidence to support your answer evaluate the worth or usefulness of techniques
used when businesses develop their strategic plans. You are encouraged to use techniques
such as BCG growth matrix, SPACE or PIMS to enhance your answer. (AC1.3)................8
d) Carry out an organisational audit for ALDI and provide an analysis of their current
strategic position. (AC 2.1)..................................................................................................10
e) Carry out an environmental audit for ALDI showing both micro and macro
environment. You are advised to use Porter’s 5 Forces analysis to answer this task. (AC
2.2).......................................................................................................................................11
f) Assess the significance of stakeholder analysis for ALDI when formulating a new
strategy. You will explain why stakeholder analysis is important when formulating a new
strategy and support your answer with justifiable reasons. (AC 2.3)..................................13
g) Using the research and information collected about ALDI, present a new strategy ALDI
can follow. (AC 2.4).............................................................................................................15
Part 2........................................................................................................................................17
a) Identify a market (new or existing) and analyse the appropriateness of suitable strategy
for ALDI in relation to substantive growth, limited growth or retrenchment. You will need
to make a case for at least one of the three strategies mentioned. (AC 3.1)........................17
b) Provide a justification of one of the strategies for market entry and growth that you have
discussed in 3.1. You will need supporting evidence to your opinion or rational. (AC 3.2)
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..............................................................................................................................................18
Part 3........................................................................................................................................19
a) Provide an assessment of the roles and responsibilities of personnel who are involved in
the implementation of the strategy. (AC 4.1).......................................................................19
b) Provide an analysis of the resource requirements for the implementation of the strategy.
(AC 4.2)................................................................................................................................20
c) Evaluate how the use of SMART targets (give examples) can contribute to achieving the
strategic objectives. (AC 4.3)...............................................................................................21
Conclusion................................................................................................................................22
References................................................................................................................................23
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Introduction
This assignment includes the case study of the Aldi a supermarket chain for which the
different evaluation and analysis is done. The vision, mission and the objective that informs
the strategic planning is discussed in this assignment. After that there is the discussion of the
strategic plans, current strategy micro and macro factors affect this company is analysed in
this assignment. Further significance of stakeholder analysis and a new strategy that Aldi can
follow is discussed in this assignment. The Aldi follows the growth strategy is investigated in
this assignment. After that, there is the evaluation of the roles and the responsibly of the
strategy makers for the business of the Aldi. The resources that required in the strategy
making is also discussed. Finally, there is the analysis of the SMART target approach that
would help this organisation in achieving targets.
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Part 1
a) Provide an assessment of the extent to which Aldi’s missions, visions, objectives,
goals, core competencies inform strategic planning. (AC1.1)
The growth and development of the Aldi in the UK and in other parts of the world are due to
its excellent business strategies that are followed by this company in gaining the good sales
and high profits in the area served by this company.
Mission
Aldi mission is to provide the products that are available in its supermarkets at economical
prices that would help this company in getting a large number of customers. The mission is
getting fulfilled with this business strategy (ALDI, 2018).
The mission of this company is to encourage the employees of this organisation to encourage
the employees to do merchandising and distribution in the planned manner that would help
this company providing good services to customers.
Vision
The vision of this company is to provide the long-term savings and follow that business
model that enables this company to provide its customers that are fulfilled by this company
by providing the economical price products even in a recession and high inflation (ALDI,
2018).
Objective
Great quality at best prices
It is the objective of this company to provide good quality to its customers. This enables this
company to get a good number of customers. This is the business strategy that is fulfilling
company gaols (ALDI, 2018).
Fair and honest product offers
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The products offered to customers are at reasonable prices, there are different offers that are
provided by this company. The offers are fairly provided with no discrimination to the
customers (ALDI, 2018).
Responsibility for employee, customers and all stakeholders
Aldi used to provide the services to its customers with full of responsibility. Aldi used to
maintain the good organisational behaviour for its employees and follow good practices for
its stakeholders. This is the part of its business strategy that helps in attaining goals archived
(Ramdhani, et. al., 2017).
Core Competencies - Efficient business process
The employees, leaders, managers and partners of this organisation work by following the
effective policies that that help this organisation to work in an efficient manner. This is the
business strategy that helps this organisation to achieve great success.
From the above information, it is assessed that core competency, objectives, goals, visions
missions all are the business strategy of Aldi that help this organisation in gaining is business
expand all over the world (ALDI, 2018).
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b) Analyse the factors to be considered by Aldi when formulating their strategic plans.
(AC 1.2)
The factors that are considered by Aldi in the formation of the strategic plans are: -
1. Engagement
Aldi enables its staff to engage fully involved in the business process that is involved in the
development and the growth of this organisation. This would encourage and motivate the
staff and if the staff had genuine exact information about their work then they will perform
well for their organisation.
2. Communication
Bottom-up and the top-down approach is used to be followed in this organisation for forming
the good communication among the employees of the organisation. If there is good
communication there would be good coordination among the employees of the organisation
(Ramdhani, et. al., 2017).
3. Culture
The good organisation behaviour used to be followed in this organisation. Managers used soft
skills to communicate with the employees of the organisation. In this way sustainability in
this organisation is maintained.
4. Project Management
This company used to develop those projects that ensure the success of the business strategies
that are part of this company project. The projects usually include the high priorities for this
organisation that would enable this company in achieving goals.
5. Innovation
This organisation used to develop the different strategies, form the new team, restructures the
organisation gain that helps this organisation in getting the different outputs from these
practices (Ramdhani, et. al., 2017).
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c) Using evidence to support your answer evaluate the worth or usefulness of techniques
used when businesses develop their strategic plans. You are encouraged to use
techniques such as BCG growth matrix, SPACE or PIMS to enhance your answer.
(AC1.3)
BCG growth matrix
It is the chart that is used to analyse their business unit. This is the analysis that is used by the
organisations to know the actual performance and position of the company that helps the
company to make business strategies. The factors on which evaluation are done are: -
Cash cows
It is the factor that denotes that the company has the good market share in the slow-growing
industry (Net MBA, 2018).
Customer Retention
It is the factor that denotes low market share in the mature industry.
(Figure: BCG Growth Matrix)
(Source: Net MBA, 2018)
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Question marks
It is the factor that denotes the company position has the low market share in a high growth
market.
Stars
It is the factor that shows the particular company is having the high market share in the high
growing industry (Net MBA, 2018).
Usefulness of evidence
Aldi was launched in the UK in 1990. The UK supermarkets are the high growth industry. In
the high growth industry, this company enters the market with no market share. This
company uses the BCG growth matrix that enables this company to know about the
performance and the position of this company in the UK market. In the UK markets, the
giants were present already like the Tesco and Sainsbury. Even after that this company makes
the different strategies, goals and uses this growth matrix to grow its market share in the UK
market (European CEO, 2018).
A question mark is a factor that shows the actual position of this company in the starting of
this company in the UK. After that, this company grows and develop in this country and the
position of this company becomes good with the help of the business strategies and this
position evaluation matrix. Cash Cow is the factor that shows this company position in the
UK thereafter (European CEO, 2018).
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d) Carry out an organisational audit for ALDI and provide an analysis of their current
strategic position. (AC 2.1)
The organisational audit for this company can be understood well with the help of the
following: -
Strength Weakness
 Used to promote itself to serve high
quality of products to its customers at
affordable prices (Mbaskool, 2017).
 Operation cost maintained to be low
by this company.
 Operating in more than 15 countries.
 Approximately 8000 stores in all over
the world.
 This company is still having the low
share as compared to Tesco and the
Sainsbury.
 Limited range of products are sold by
this company
 This company y used to spend less on
the advertising (Mbaskool, 2017).
 This company allegedly regarded as
low cost and cheap cost stores.
Opportunities Threats
 Investment can be increased in
advertising that helps in increasing the
market share and targeting customers.
 African and Asian markets can be
targeted.
 This company not able to cater the
customers that are looking for the complete
shopping experiences.
 High level of completion from the
Asda, Ldli (Mbaskool, 2017).
This company has the good market position at present but this company has to more focus on
its strengths and threats. More focusing on the strength would make this company image
better than before. This would also help this company to make the business strategies that
would help this company to overcome the different threats that are with this company.
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e) Carry out an environmental audit for ALDI showing both micro and macro
environment. You are advised to use Porter’s 5 Forces analysis to answer this task. (AC
2.2)
Micro external environment
In this external analysis of the market for the Aldi, there is the discussion of the porter five
model that enables this company to evaluate its current position in the market and current
competition and helps in making the good strategies for this organisation.
Porter 5 Forces
In this model there are the factors that help this model in analysing current competition for
the Aldi is: -
Threat of New Entrants
It is the threat of this company that there are the new entreats that are coming in the British
supermarkets. This company operates relatively small stores in the UK so the other
companies can come in the British supermarkets and take its position (Blackburn, et. al.,
2013).
Threat of substitutes
It is the threat of this company that Asda can take its position in the British supermarkets as
this company has a high customer base (European CEO, 2018).
Bargaining power of customers
The customers used to move on those supermarkets that offer products on the prices that are
less than Aldi (Nielsen, 2018).
Bargaining power of suppliers
Supermarkets have high bargaining power as compared to the supplier. The good scale of
buying power is also the situation with this company in the UK.
Industry rivalry
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This company used to operate the low level fixed prices on the products but there are the
other supermarket chains that offer the products the low prices like Asda.
Macro
These are the factors that affect this company at the large level that are as follows: -
Political
UK government is providing the ease of business to the companies that are operating their
business in the UK. This helps companies in making more investment (Blackburn, et. al.,
2013).
Economical
The UK is out of recession now so the customers can move to high-cost mainstream
supermarkets from the low-cost product providers.
Social
The buying behaviour of the customers is that they want all the products at one roof but this
supermarket used to provide the limited products as compared to Tesco and the Sainsbury
(Shabanova, et. al., 2015).
Technological
Aldi not used to provides the online shopping while its competitors used to provide the online
shopping to its customers.
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