Business Strategy Report: Just Eat, Unit 32, Semester 2

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of Just Eat's business strategy, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It begins with an introduction to business strategy and its importance, followed by an examination of the macro-environment using PESTLE analysis and Ansoff Matrix, focusing on political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors. The report then delves into Just Eat's internal environment and capabilities using the VRIO framework, evaluating resources based on their value, rarity, imitability, and organizational support. The analysis extends to competitive forces, evaluating them through Porter's Five Forces model to devise strategies for enhancing competitive edge and market position. The report also explores strategic planning theories, concepts, and models, culminating in a strategic management plan. The report draws conclusions based on the data, providing a critical interpretation of the information and data acquired through environmental and competitive analysis.

Evaluating business strategy
in the COVID 19 pandemic

Table of Contents
Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1) The impact and influence of the macro environment on organisation and its strategies. 1
M1) critically analyse the macro environment to inform strategic management decisions.. .4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P2) The internal environment and capabilities of organisation..............................................5
M2) Critically evaluate internal environment to assess strengths and weaknesses of an
organisation’s.........................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P3) Evaluate the competitive forces for an organisation........................................................9
M3) Devise appropriate strategies to improve competitive edge and market position........10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P4) Range of theories, concepts and models, interpret and devise strategic planning.........10
M4) Produce a strategic management plan..........................................................................12
D1 Critique and interpret information and data applying environmental and competitive
analysis.................................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy is defined as certain actions and decisions which an organization plans to
take in order to achieve all goals and objectives. It helps various departments to work together
and assuring that the decisions which are taken would support the overall direction of
organization. There are different types of business strategy like corporate level, functional level
and so on. It is crucial for every organization to build up an efficient business strategy. So, for
this they must develop a true vision and proper targets should be set up. As per the current
situation of COVI-19 pandemic strategic planning has become even harder. So, with respect to
these businesses had to implement various new strategies like in terms of being strategic about
digital marketing efforts and many more (Mason, Narcum and Mason, 2020). Many new trends
got implemented like in the form of cashless services, e-commerce acceleration, and robotics and
so on. While looking at all businesses and the increased pandemic the situations are getting
worse so it is crucial to initiate different business strategies which would be helpful in future
aspects. The below report involves impact and influence of macro environment on organization,
analysation of internal environment and capabilities, porter’s five forces model to evaluate all
competitive forces and range of certain theories with respect to strategic planning. The report is
based on Just eat. It is an online food order and delivery service industry which was founded by
JesperBuch, Per Meldgaard and HenrikOstergaard in 2001. The company has their headquarters
in London, United Kingdom. The company is considered as the fastest way to order takeaway
online. The main channel for audiences is their own website while in terms of their restaurant is
their direct sales team.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
P1) The impact and influence of the macro environment on organisation and its strategies.
In relation withframeworks there are two methods which are been used and these are pestle
analysis and ansoff matrix. In accordance with Just eat, it is further been explained as below:-
Pestle Analysis:-
 Political factors:-They implement a strong range of influence in terms of the long term
sustainability and profitability of organization. Due to the influence of international stage
it raises the company’s sensitivity in relation with all changes happening in political
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environment. In political context, the main motive to achieve success is to expand certain
risks. There are different political factors which influence it like political stability,
bureaucracy, changing policies and many more. On the basis of political stability, Just eat
offers a stable business environment in context with market growth trends (Dwivedi and
et. al., 2020). The organization is present in various countries and each carries some kind
of difficulties. With respect to such instabilities in the global political environment it
impacts them as it reduces their growth opportunities. On the basis of bureaucracy and
corruption it affects the business environment in negative way. As just eat is now
operating in different countries where there is high level of corruption. Due to this it
creates a very unpredictable situation for company. The level of corruption influences
overall business operations deals with law suits and many more. So, if Just eat would
make a decision to enter markets with their political system it creates a threat to company
sustainable development and damage the justice system.
 Economic factors:-It is very crucial for an organization to understand all economic
factors like inflation, foreign exchange and many more because they identify whole
economic environment of the country. With the help of such factors Just eat evaluates the
growth trajectory. There are many economic factors which creates an impact on the
organization business cycle stage, inflation, economic structure and so on. On the basis of
business cycle stage, when the economy is growing they create many opportunities for
the company and at the same point of time it is also important for Just eat to understand
about business cycle stage. When business enters into mature industries it creates a
challenging situation. The overall business performance is also influenced by the aspect
to which the government of that country spent on the infrastructure development (Sharma
and et. al., 2020). In accordance with inflation and certain interest rates, the gross
domestic product growth rate will identify just eat industry capacity to follow their long
term strategies. When there would be high interest rates then more growth opportunities
will be there.
 Social factors:-There are many social factors which influences and organization. There
are various types of social factors like power structures, shared beliefs and so on. With
the help of such factors Just eat industry can create efficient marketing strategies and on
the basis of that achieve all business objectives. To initiate overall macro environmental
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analysis they should consider different social factors. In accordance with certain
demographic trends, many changes happen like migration which has their importance in
terms of international business operations. So, with respect to this it is crucial for Just eat
also to properly determine the attitude of audiences towards migration. On the basis of
spending patterns it is influenced by their purchasing power of money. There are many
countries in which it is considered that the product which is been offered is in relation
with a status symbol. So, Just eat industry should invest some of their time on
understanding all social trends which affect he consumption behavior.
 Technological factors:-To achieve overall business goals and objectives it is crucial to
determined new trends in technologies like enhancing overall business operations. There
are many technological factors which can influence the performance of organization like
social media marketing (Yuan and et. al., 2020). On the basis of this the innovation in
communication and information technology has implemented different new techniques in
order to initiate better collaboration with audiences. With the help of this Just eat industry
can use those opportunities in order to make improvements in their performance.
 Environmental factors:-There are various type of factors which creates an impact and
influence the organization like in terms of waste management, climatic conditions and so
on. On the basis of waste management recycling is associated a main business element.
So, with respect to this there are certain effective waste management practices which are
very much crucial for business organization. In context with climatic conditions they may
change at any point of time due to which it create an influence on efficiency level of
business also. For example, if the weather conditions are at extreme level then it will
raise the overall cost of operations due to which Just eats industry would be able to make
their value chain more flexible.
 Legal factors:-There are various legal factors which creates an impact and influence like
employee protection laws, consumer protection laws and so on. In relation with such
laws, Just eat organization should always follow these laws in order to assure labor
safety. It is also crucial to ensure that data is protected and there is efficient level of
quality standard.
Ansoff growth vector matrix:-
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 Market penetration:- It is defined as how much a product is been used by customers in
comparison to the total estimated market for that specific product. In context with Just eat
industry; their gross bookings were around $30 billion in year 2020 (Pfarrer and et. al.,
2019). It is one of the most popular food delivery service industries; it controls 29 percent
of the global food delivery market. The organization implemented various types of
strategies in different ways. They also used to write the customer names on the top of the
product.
 Market development:- It is crucial for every business organization to expand and explore
new markets with the help of their existing food items only. In relation with Just eat,
they have around 122 million orders and have established the market in Canada where the
company operates under their subsidiary name which is “Skip the Dishes”.
 Product development:- With the help of new product development it allowed Just eat’s
technology to lead the organization into the wave of innovation as well as enhanced the
customers experience. Even during the phase of COVID-19 pandemic they implemented
different business strategies on the basis of which better customer experience was been
generated.
 Diversification strategies:-It is considered as one of the most riskiest strategy because by
delivering new products to new markets it is a very challenging situation. With respect to
this they mainly concentrated on horizontal way of diversification. So, they planned to
launch a new food range in order to expand new products in new markets.
M1) critically analyse the macro environment to inform strategic management decisions.
On the basis of certain factors like Pestle analysis and Ansoff growth matrix Just eat had
to make certain strategic management decisions. There are various political, economic, social
factors which influence business management decisions. As it is important for businesses to
properly analyze overall macro environment so Just eat also determined a stable market. They
invested some of their time in understanding about new social trends as well as technologies
through which proper strategic decisions were been made (Verbeke and Yuan, 2021). There are
many advantages with respect to these frameworks like Pestle analysis is very useful in order to
know about the impact of macro environment so that right decisions can be taken. It helps the
organization to accept each growth opportunity from external factors.
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TASK 2
P2) The internal environment and capabilities of organisation
It is very crucial for an organization to analyse the impact of internal environment
elementson equal basis in comparison with external elements. VRIO analysis is a useful tool to
have knowledge of the internal environment. In relation with Just eat industry it is been
explained as below:-
Resources Valuable Rare Imitable Organization Advantage
Information
technology
Yes No No Yes Permanent
Supply chain
management
Yes No Yes Yes Permanent
Workforce Yes Yes No Yes Permanent
Cost efficiency Yes Yes Yes Yes Not permanent
 Information technology:- As Just eat industry is operating worldwide it is important that
the company control all functions by having the assistance from information technology.
 Supply chain management:-It has to be maintained properly so that right food products
can be gathered from effective resources.
 Workforce:- It is really important for food delivery service industry than skilled
employees are there in order to get faster services.
 Cost efficiency:- The industry gathered some of their products from the supplies against
the effective cost.
Valuable:- In terms of Just eat industry the financial resources of company are highly
valuable as they help in doing investment into external opportunities and at the same point of
time deal with all external threats. In accordance with this the local food products are a valuable
resource because it is completely differentiated. According to the VRIO analysis the company
patents are a valuable resource because they allow the industry to sell all products without any
competitive interference. Their distribution network is considered as a valuable resource because
it helps them in reaching out to more and more customers (Manolova and et. al., 2020)
(Velikorossov and et. al., 2020). Through this it is assured that Just eat would be able to generate
more revenue and better promotion would be done. The cost structure is also considered valuable
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because everything is done with proper efficiency and in context with this better competitive
advantage gets earned.
Rare:-The financial resources of Just eat are rare in accordance with the VRIO analysis
been done. The food products which they provide are not rare and are easily find out in the
market. With respect to this they can deal with all competitors in a better way. The employees of
industry are a rare resource. All the workers are highly trained as well as skilled in comparison
with other food delivery service industries. With the help of better and positive work
environment and compensation it is ensured that employees won’t leave the company. The
patents of Just eat are also considered as a rare resource because they are not easily available and
also not used by competitors. With the help of this the company was able to use this without any
kind of interference. In accordance with the overall distribution network it was been determined
that it is a rare resource for Just eat industry and the main reason behind it was that all
competitors would need a lot of investment as well as time to maintain a better distribution
network.
Imitable:-In relation with Just eat the financial resources are very much expensive in order
to imitate. It has been used by company through sustained profits since long period of time. The
new companies and competitors would also need such profits for long period of time to gather
overall financial resources (Makadok, Burton and Barney, 2018). The food products which they
deliver are not much costly to imitate and these can be used by competitors also if they invest a
specific amount of money in doing research. The employees working in the organization are not
costly to imitate because as there are many competitors and all of them provide efficient level of
training in order to improve their skills and abilities. Just eat industry hire workers on the basis of
offering positive work environment, different compensation packages, and advantages and so on.
With the help of this all employees provide permanent competitive advantage. In relation with
the patents and distribution network they are very difficult as well as costly to imitate. In context
with patents of Just eat it is not legally allowed to imitate a patented food product. With respect
to this same kind of resources should be developed and getting a patent for them is also
expensive. In accordance with the distribution network
Organization:-The financial resources of Just Eat industry are implemented to engage
value. All the resources are used in a strategic manner in order to invest in the right places and
make efficient use of all opportunities and ultimately deal with all kind of threats. These
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resources are considered as a source of competitive advantage for Just eats food delivery
industry. In context with the patents of organization they are not properly organized and the
reason behind it is that just eat industry are not using their patents to their full capacity. If an
organization would start selling their patented products before its expiry their competitive
advantage would get enhanced (Manuel and Herron, 2020). In context with the distribution
network it is well organized because they use their network to reach maximum number of
customers by assuring that all food products are available at all the stores
M2) Critically evaluate internal environment to assess strengths and weaknesses of an
organisation’s
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
 Just eat has a
very strong
base of
suppliers in
terms of their
raw materials
which enable
the
organization to
overcome the
difficulties in
terms of
supply chain.
 The company
have highly
talented
employees
with the help
of successful
training and
development
 Though Just
eat is one of
the top food
delivery and
service
industry but it
has faced
many
challenges
while moving
to other
product
segments.
 The company
is not able to
tackle such
difficulties due
to which they
lost small
market share
in some
 As there are
any trends in
consumer
behavior
which can
open up a new
market for an
organization
so it offers
them an
amazing
opportunity in
creating
revenue
streams and
expanding
new products.
 Due to the
stable free
cash flow it
provides
 The major
threat for a
company is
that if
competitors
like deliveroo,
uber eats use
unique
techniques
then it will be
a threat for
them as per
their future
aspects.
 The high cost
food products
which are
seasonal in
nature may
affect the
profitability of
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because Just
eat invests
huge resources
in providing
training.
 The main
strength of
organization is
that they have
built up
efficient level
of customer
satisfaction.
Due to
efficient
customer
relationship
management
good brand
equity got
formed and on
the basis of
that reached to
many
audiences.
categories.
 The overall
marketing of
product left a
lot which was
desired. Even
though food
products were
achieving
success but in
context with
their unique
selling
proposition it
was not
perfect.
company to
make an
investment in
new product
segments.
 With the help
of increase in
consumer
spending it
initiates an
opportunity
for Just Eat
industry to
gather new
market
customers and
also enhance
overall market
share.
company
because if they
are needed
without any
type of event
then will affect
them.
 The changed
behavior of
consumers
from online
channel can be
a threat fir Just
eat in relation
with their
existing
physical
infrastructure
supply chain
model (Akpan,
Udoh and
Adebisi,
2020).
TASK 3
P3) Evaluate the competitive forces for an organisation.
Porter’s five forces model is very much essential for an organization to properly understand
about the internal capability of a company and for the influence of various internal factors. These
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includes threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers,
threat of substitute products and rivalry among existing firms. In relation with Just eat industry it
is further been explained as below:-
 Threat of new entrants:-With respect to Just eat, the threat of new entrants is very high
because while starting a new restaurant it is very easy to implement it and is also cost
efficient. All individuals can easily capture their own funds in comparison with starting
any other business (Olson and et. al., 2021). Due to robust growth the organization
reaches up to the stage of product life cycle. In context with this strong competition gets
arise across different business sectors. It creates a threat for them because new
competitors can arise at any point of time and the existing one can also built up certain
new strategies like deliveroo, Uber eats can initiate new techniques to capture the
attention of maximum number of people.
 Threat of substitute products:-There is moderate level of threat in terms of substitute
products as the rival companies have tested Just eat employees due to which the risk of
substitution gets reduced. The products which are available are expensive and Just eat sell
their products at affordable price. Through this buyers don’t switch to any other company
especially as it is the case of food delivery industry.
 Bargaining power of buyers:-In relation with poor services all buyers changes their
service sector. They prefer only those sectors in which efficient services are been
provided and they get high level of satisfaction. In context with Just eat power of buyers
are not much more because they have very few options to choose from. In relation with
the product differentiation it is at high level (Phillipson and et. al., 2020). In accordance
with this they are not able to find out alternative industries who are delivering a specific
product. Due to this it creates a weaker situation for them.
 Bargaining power of suppliers:-As the customers have information regarding their tastes
and brands so when so if they don’t get such products and their requirements are not met
the supply gets reduced because demand from customers get decreased due to certain
changes in the standards of people. The number of suppliers is much more in comparison
to the buyers so they have less control over the prices. The suppliers do not provide a
threat towards forward integration which Just eat organization operates. Due to this their
power becomes a weaker force.
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 Rivalry among competitors:-The numbers of competitors in the industry are not much
more and most of them are also large in size (Lee and Trimi, 2021). Due to this the
organization would not make many moves and ultimately the rivalry among existing
firms would become a weaker force. The fixed costs are also high within the industry due
to which it makes Just eat to push to full capacity level. The food products which they
deliver are highly differentiated. On the basis of this it is difficult for all competitors to
build up the customer satisfaction of each other because every product is unique in their
own way.
M3) Devise appropriate strategies to improve competitive edge and market position
There are various strategies that is followed by the company in order to maintain higher
competitive advantage and with this possibility to achieve long term sustainability and
attentiveness both get processed in beneficial manner. It is being estimated that most of the
people get attracted towards the hygiene and with better quality foods and service so for this Just
eat maintain sustained focus about to provide adequate services to its customer through whom
possibility to perceived higher competitive advantage with timely constrained is processed with
adequateness. In this low bargaining power of suppliers and lower threat of new entrant is the
advantage of the business and with this probability to achieve standardised outcome in stipulated
period of instance is developed in favoured mode (Ansoff and et. al., 2018). In addition, to
manage and control higher threat of substitute, bargaining power of buyer and higher competitive
rivalry among competitors is the biggest threat and for that Just eat and its management required
to work over advancement of higher working standards so that performance credibility and its
productiveness both get developed on continuous basis.
TASK 4
P4) Range of theories, concepts and models, interpret and devise strategic planning
Porter's generic strategies: It is a strategically framework that is used by an
organisation in order to advance and attain adequate range of benefits from the competitive
marketplace through which possibility to attain higher market scope is perceived with
attentiveness. It is a strategy that is used to attain, create, develop sustained performance
credibility with this long term sustainability and attentiveness is attained over a regular period of
instance. Just eat and its management make supportive usage of this strategy in order to make
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