Master of International Business: Blackmores Case Study Analysis

This case study analyzes Blackmores, a leading Australian company in the health and wellness industry. The analysis, conducted as part of an Integrated Capstone Project (TBUS 501/502) for a Master's degree, examines Blackmores' business strategy from a business strategy perspective. The study identifies key business issues such as falling market share, supply shortages, and longer lead times in production. It further explores the challenges related to quality control and ingredient shortages. The recommendations section suggests inviting market research and quality control experts to assess new suppliers and reduce lead times. The conclusion emphasizes the time required for Blackmores to regain its market position and the challenges faced in foreign markets due to supply chain issues. The analysis uses theoretical concepts like SWOT and competitive advantage to provide a comprehensive overview of Blackmores' strategic position and challenges.

Integrated Capstone Project
(Management)
Student name:
ID:
Unit code and name:
Assignment type:
Selected topic (Blackmores)

Introduction and Background of Blackmores
Blackmores is one of the most prominent companies located in
Australia. The company possess a lot of experience in the domains of
producing vitamins, minerals, nutrients and herbs. The products present in
the company are sold in more than 17 markets across the Asia-Pacific
region. The company has been awarded as the most trusted supplement
and vitamin brand by Reader’s Digest. The product range provided by the
company extends to cholesterol, sleep, stress, eye health and arthritis as
well (Braun, 2015). The company had its initial beginnings in the 1930s
due to the missions and visions of and English immigrant Maurice
Blackmore. The Blackmores Group has entities such as BioCeuticals,
Blackmores Institute, Fusion Health & Oriental Botanicals, Impromy,
IsoWhey, Pure Animal Wellbeing (PAW) as well.

Identified Business Issues
• The company has been facing a lot of challenges because of the
falling market share and there has been a shortage of supply.
• Due to the lack of supplies Blackmores performance could greatly
be affected in the second half of the financial year.
• Lack of supplies can provide competitors the utmost advantages in
such situations (Di Costa, 2017).
• Another dominant issue is the longer lead times required to
manufacture all the health products in the company.
• Quality control is important for the managers in the organization
but lessening the lead time has achieved prominence over the years
due to the multiple disadvantages faced in these domains.
• The shares of the company did fall extensively by 16% due to the
ongoing shortages of ingredients that include fish oil and whey
protein as well (Brown-Paul, 2016).

Recommendations and Conclusions
Experts in the domains of market research and quality control must be
invited to the organization so that the new suppliers can be examined
and assessed to a great extent. As other organizations are being invited
in order to gain production expertise, the lead time can get reduced
significantly with time. Blackmores will require a lot of time when it
comes to gaining back the same position that it held earlier in the
market (Mudditt, 2018) . Challenges with supply, quality control and
lead time will be faced in foreign nations as the branches will be cut
of from the supplies available in Australia. As other organizations are
being invited in order to achieve high levels of product expertise, the
lead time can get lessened to a great extent with time. The company
will be able to produce more products within a shorter period of time
leading to more efficiency and even prosperous growth in the
prevalent market revenue structures of the organization.

References
• Braun, L., 2015. Be our guest: A focus on evidence. Australian
Pharmacist, 34(4), p.14.
• Brown-Paul, C., 2016. Functional foods. Practical Hydroponics and
Greenhouses, (172), p.24.
• Di Costa, N., 2017. Supporting pharmacy practice: Micronutrients and
supplementation in preconception, pregnancy and
breastfeeding. Australian Pharmacist, 36(11), p.44.
• Mudditt, J., 2018. Market forces. Company Director, 34(2), p.38.