Business Strategy Recommendation Report for Slices Company: UAE

This report provides a strategic recommendation for Slices Company's e-business strategy, aiming to enhance service delivery and expand into international markets. It begins with an executive summary highlighting the importance of e-business in the current market landscape, followed by an analysis of Slices' existing strategies, including resource capabilities, intangible resources, strategic locations, and philanthropic initiatives. The report assesses proposed new strategies, emphasizing the need for value creation and the development of an e-business roadmap model. It outlines the company's vision, mission, and objectives, focusing on increasing customer value, understanding market segments, and developing internal organization strategies. The report also addresses value creation strategies such as convenience, cost leadership, and product differentiation, alongside customer target segments and potential privacy, ethical, and legal issues. Finally, it discusses the importance of external partnerships and provides recommendations for the initial 6-12 months of strategy implementation, aimed at improving service provision and expanding market reach.

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BUSINESS: STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION REPORT FOR E-BUSINESS STRATEGY
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Executive summary
The significance of e-business strategy cannot be overlooked in the current business
landscape. Technological advancements in business have shifted most business operations and
especially marketing operations towards the use of internet and therefore contributing to the
rapid growth of electronic commerce. Due to these changes, many businesses are consequently
required to re-invent themselves regarding their strategic development to facilitate improved
performance regarding service delivery and their competitiveness and relevance in the industry.
This report aims to develop a strategy recommendation that will assist in the implementation of
an e-business strategy in Slices business operations to improve their service delivery and
performance in the UAE markets and also help them to diversify their services into other
international markets. To achieve this goal, the report will seek to provide an analysis of the
current strategies employed by the company in the determination of its current market
positioning as well as give an outlay or review of the new approach admits impact to the
development of the company operations. Lastly, the report will provide recommendations for the
significant steps the company is required to undertake in the first 6 to 12 months of
implementation of the new strategy.
Analysis of the current strategies employed Slices Company
Slices Company has successfully been able to revolutionize the food industry amongst
the UAE countries through their unique brands which seek to provide healthy foods to their
market segments. The company significant operations and supplies are amongst the young
generation as well as the top executives, and therefore these groups form the company top
consumers segments (Withers et al. 2018, p. 76). To achieve their goals and help the company

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remain competitive in the industry the company must have laid a well-developed strategy. From
our analysis in the first assignment, we identified various critical competencies of the company
which forms the company key strategies employed to achieve their goals.
One of the significant current strategies employed by the company is its resource
capability. Easy access to capital has enabled the company to scale up their operations to offer
quality services to their clients. Such a strategy is very critical as it allows for the company to
invest heavily by focusing on developing customer focus which is significant in the development
of the food industry (Wheelen et al. 2017, p. 52). It also gives the company a competitive edge
since most companies struggle to deliver quality services due to lack of enough capital resources.
The company has also been able to deploy the strategy of using the intangible resources
of the company such as its extensive knowledge from its human resource base in developing
quality brands. The company was able to attract quality and skilled employees who produce food
and beverage products of nutritious and societal value. Such strategy has been effective in
providing the company with a unique brand in the market and increasing their competitiveness
(Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2015, p. 8). The ability to understand societal needs is an added
advantage to the company as it helps the company deliver quality products which will help meet
their needs.
The strategic location of Slices stores and business has also given the company a
competitive advantage by increasing their convenience to deliver services to various market
segments. The company has been able to locate or establish their stores near their target markets
to reduce the cost of acquiring the goods which are very vital in influencing consumer behavior
(Cavusgil et al. 2014, p. 16). Also, the philanthropic nature of the company has enabled it

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enjoyed continued growth and support from the community through increased social corporate
sustainability which is essential in determining the future viability of the company. Lastly, the
company has deployed a strategy of using an organic product from the local farmers in the
production of their food delicacies and also provided employment opportunities to the local
populations (Laudon & Laudon, 2015, p. 1080. Such a strategy is advantageous as it helps the
company develop an effective supply chain and enhance its business support by contributing to
local economic development by improving the living standards of the people.
Despite the current strategies which have been used in contributing to increased business
growth and sustainability there is a significant concern on expanding the company operations to
other international markets or increase its customer base to other markets outside UAE (Veit et
al. 2014, p. 47). To achieve this company recommended entering into business franchise
orientation with the aim of increasing its revenue. There is also a need to improve partnerships
with other stakeholders in the retail, food and beverage industry as well as the local dealers and
farmers. Addressing such concerns will help the company, therefore, to achieve its expansion
goals and increase their efficiency in service provision. However, for effectiveness in expansion
strategy, there is a need to develop an electronic business strategy as a startup plan to open up
new markets and understand the different needs of consumers (Spieth et al. 2014, p. 241). Such
a strategy will, therefore, be necessary for improving the existing services of the company as
well as conducting market research through analysis of customer behavior and needs in different
markets segmentation.

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Assessment of the new proposed strategies
The current positioning of the company in the market can be said to average in that the
company has not adequately maximized their potential in developing new business ventures and
increased revenue growth. With increased competition in the industry resulting from
technological advancements, the priority of the company would be to create a strategy that will
enhance value creation to their customers. This is because the future sustainability and
profitability of the company operations will be determined by its ability create value to their
customers (Galliers & Leidner, 2014, p. 31). Development of e-business strategy will, therefore,
be useful in achieving value creation through building relationships with different customer
segments and other stakeholders i the industry.
The Road Map Model for E-Business Strategy Implementation
The effectiveness of this model can be best understood through the analysis of external
business environment, the value creation strategies as well as the internal business environment.
The external environment aims at providing an understanding of who the company needs to
compete with while the value creation strategies seek to understand the value by which the
company wants to create to their customers (Carayannis et al. 2015, p. 92). Lastly, the strategy
aims at understanding how the company will be organized internally to help them achieve the
value creation objectives. The roadmap model will, therefore, assist us in understanding both
external and internal environment strategies as well as the value creation strategies for the
company.

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Slices UAE Vision and Mission Statements
The company has the vision to influence the eating habits of the young generation
positively. Its business mission is to provide education to the next generation which is the young
generation of healthy eating, and this will be done by providing access to nutritious foods
through a service provision initiative that enables them to have a different perspective on food.
Objectives of the e-business strategy
 To increase customer value creation by building strong engagements and relationships
using internet platforms
 To understand various market segments in which the company will be competing in a
move to improve efficiency in service delivery.
 To develop effective internal organization strategies that will help in the achievement of
value creation
 To aid in increasing customer confidence with the company through internet interactions
and service provision
Value creation strategies
A value creation strategy for customers will seek to determine or evaluate what drives
consumer benefits or costs. Since the e-business strategy is aimed at value creation, then the
company will need to focus on understanding the economic benefits which consumers can derive
from their goods and how they can reduce costs to maximize their utility (Ahson & Ilyas, 2017,
p. 43). One of the drivers of consumer benefits would be the convenience to obtain goods and

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services. The strategy, therefore, aims to develop an internet platform where consumers can
interact with various company products and make the necessary orders for delivery. By
establishing a cost leadership strategy, the company will be able to offer the best services at the
best prices in the market and therefore give them a competitive advantage (Turban et al. 2017, p.
14). Product differentiation strategies which can be achieved through quality food packaging can
contribute to increased value creation to the consumers.
Customer target segments for the new strategy
One of the critical factors in successful marketing strategies is the ability to identify the
potential customer targets or market segments. Developing a customer target segment helps in
understanding the different needs of specific groups of customers to enhance service delivery to
the groups. Useful customer segments are developed through analysis of the various customer
differentiation characteristics such as age, gender, and income. Planning for service delivery
should be focused on these characteristics for increased efficiency (Sharma & Lijuan, 2014, p.
422). Therefore the company significant target segment is the young generation and is most
dependent on their parent’s income since most are students. The strategy, therefore, aims at
utilizing the social activeness opportunity of the young generation to develop a plan that will
build relationships which will contribute increased service provision by understanding their
needs. The company has also focused on delivery of services to the top executives who may be
in this case the high-income earners. However, the strategy also aims at including another
customer segment to fill the gap between the middle-income earners. This will help in increasing
company revenue and also assist it in achieving its growth and expansion strategy.
Privacy, ethical and legal issues

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The development of the e-business strategy is likely to encounter privacy, ethical and
legal related issues. The internet has been subject to cybersecurity issues in the recent past
which have increased the risks of conducting business operations through the internet (Gunarto,
2014, p. 24). However, business has developed various control, regulation and protection
mechanisms aimed at securing their business websites and other internet social platforms in a
move to increase business credulity and protect their consumers. Privacy issues related to e-
business strategy are mainly concerned with the personal information protection (Ginter et al.
2014, p. 751). The development of the e-business strategy will require the customers to provide
personal information to the company willingly such as the customer names, contact information
as well as the credit card numbers to facilitate online transactions. Hackers can use the
customer’s information such as the credit card number to have access to customer’s accounts.
The ethical issues likely to be encountered include the theft of customer’s information as
well as reduced service delivery where the customers may order some services through the
internet, and then the company takes to take in delivering. Poor service army also occurs when
the products promoted on the platform are not the quality that the customers wanted (Acquisti et
al. 2015, p.511). Baits and switches form another category of ethical issues prevalent in
electronic commerce and have deceived many customers who end up losing their money. The
legal problems likely to be experienced include the intellectual property rights, lack of company
trademark protection as well as the legal issues relating to the security of company websites and
domains (Grama, 2014, p. 7). The company should, therefore, partner with relevant regulation
and legislation bodies to enhance consumer protection as well as protect the business internet
platforms from possible attacks or inappropriate uses.

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External partners in the implementation of e-business strategy
Effective implementation of the e-business strategy will require a collective effort of
different business stakeholders. The company will, therefore, be expected to develop
partnerships with other external stakeholders in the business. Partnerships with the relevant
information and technology companies will help the company in protecting the company (Gerow
et al. 2015, p. 471). There is also a need to partner with the government regulation and
legislation bodies to help in protecting the company trademarks as well as protection of
intellectual property rights. Lastly, the company will also be needed to partner with company
suppliers, dealers as well as the customer through a memorandum of understanding since they
play a significant role in company brand development.
Organization Business model to be applied
There are different e-business strategy business models, and their application depends on
the nature of the business. Since one of the objectives of the strategy is to reduce costs of
acquiring goods for the students and other market segments, then the best business model to
apply in developing an e-business strategy would be the Freemium Model (Wu et al. 2015, p.
503). The model is commonly used by most Internet-based businesses. The model will allow the
customer's services from the company at no cost and is aimed at building strong relationships
with the company for the future sustainability of the business.
Revenue and cost model applicable for the e-business strategy

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The useful revenue and cost model for the development of the e-business model would be
the one that will allow company increase their revenue and on the other hand reduce costs for
both the company and the consumers (Slack, 2015, p. 327). The best model, in this case, would
be collecting revenue from every subscription access to the company. Secondly, the company
can also use the income from cost per click which means that advertisers on the company
electronic platforms will not only be charged for the number of ads displayed but also according
to the number of clicks on the site.
Strategy alignment with company physical strategy
The development of the e-business strategy is aligned to the company physical strategy in
that it helps the company enhance its service provision to the students in high schools by
developing and building relationships which will enhance service provision and increased
convenience of their products from their stores through online delivery systems (Akter et al.
2016, p. 122). The strategy will also help the company in enhancing their expansion strategies to
other international markets through conducting online consumer surveys and analyzing the
consumption behaviors.
Recommendation
Based on the above strategy recommendation the company is supposed to take specific steps
within the next 6 to 12 months to facilitate effective implementation. Therefore it is
recommended that the company should seek to establish the different IT Companies which will
help in partnering to provide better solutions for the development of the strategy.

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Due to increased competition in the industry and the need to differentiate company brands from
the existing competitor brands the company also needs to conduct a market survey to establish
the e-business strategies employed by her competitors to help the company develop a unique
plan.
Lastly, it is also essential for the company to develop a pricing strategy for their products based
on the market segment characteristics such as age, gender, and income. This will help the
company reach out to diverse market segments and increase their revenue generation and
profitability.

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List of References
Acquisti, A., Brandimarte, L. and Loewenstein, G., 2015. Privacy and human behavior in the age
of information. Science, 347(6221), pp.509-514.
Ahson, S.A. and Ilyas, M., 2017. RFID handbook: applications, technology, security, and
privacy. CRC press.pp. 35-47.
Akter, S., Wamba, S.F., Gunasekaran, A., Dubey, R. and Childe, S.J., 2016. How to improve
firm performance using big data analytics capability and business strategy alignment?
International Journal of Production Economics, 182, pp.113-131.
Carayannis, E.G., Sindakis, S. and Walter, C., 2015. Business model innovation as lever of
organizational sustainability. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 40(1), pp.85-104.
Cavusgil, S.T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J.R., Rammal, H.G. and Rose, E.L., 2014. International
business. Pearson Australia.pp. 14-18.
Fleisher, C.S. and Bensoussan, B.E., 2015. Business and competitive analysis: effective
application of new and classic methods. FT Press.pp. 8.
Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E. eds., 2014. Strategic information management: challenges and
strategies in managing information systems. Routledge.pp. 31.
Gerow, J.E., Thatcher, J.B. and Grover, V., 2015. Six types of IT-business strategic alignment:
an investigation of the constructs and their measurement. European Journal of
Information Systems, 24(5), pp.465-491.