E-Business Strategies: Analysis and Recommendations for Slices Company

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Slices, a food and beverage company operating in the UAE. It begins with an executive summary highlighting the importance of strategic implementation for organizational growth and success, followed by an introduction that sets the context for the report. The assessment section reviews Slices' current strategies, evaluating its position in the competitive UAE market and its core competencies. The report then proposes new strategies, including product diversification, market expansion, enhancement of social and online presence, and a competitive strategy, detailing their tangible and intangible benefits. Finally, the report offers recommendations for improving Slices' operations, including a new business model canvas and an action plan to resolve issues, implement strategic changes, and establish a strong brand image, all aimed at enhancing its competitive edge and market presence in the food and beverage sector. The report concludes with references to support the analysis and recommendations.

Running Head: E-BUSINESS 1
E-Business Strategies: Slices

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Executive Summary
Implementation of appropriate strategies is very critical to the growth and success of an
organization. It includes addressing the issues and approaching the predetermined goals and
objectives. It emphasizes on the whole company. This implementation starts with the scanning of
environment, external analysis, industry analysis and identification of issues. After analyzing
issues in the first part, it is the second part that has the objective to implement new strategies to
the chosen organization i.e. Slices. This assessment includes the analysis of current strategies
used by the company. It talks about the current position of company in the business environment
of UAE. Furthermore, the report includes the new strategies and their tangible and intangible
benefits to the organization. The recommendations are given that company can improve its
operations by using new business model canvas. This business model canvas can be
implemented by using an action plan. The content of this report will enable the organization to
resolve the issues, implement strategic changes and establish string brand image among
customers.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Current Strategies Assessment........................................................................................................4
New strategies..................................................................................................................................6
Benefits............................................................................................................................................8
Recommendations............................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
In today’s competitive business environment, it is very important for the companies to analyze
its strategies and make required changes time-to-time. It can assist the organization in leading the
industry over its competitors (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). The management of the company
needs to give effective strategic direction to its operations so that it can stay competitive and
successful in its sector.
This report is the continuation of the assessment 1 that included environmental analysis and
strategic change recommendations in context of Slices Organization in United Arab Emirates
(UAE). This report includes the discussion about the current and new strategies of Slices.
Furthermore, it states the benefits of the proposed strategies in the future of organization. At the
end, recommendations are given for enhancing the operations of company.
Current Strategies Assessment
From the first assessment, it can be stated that Slices is not very much popular in the UAE and
worldwide. Slices is home grown food organization that is aimed at changing the eating habits
across the UAE by offering nutritious and wholesome meals (Slices 2015). First part of the
assessment provided a detailed analysis about the business operations of this food and beverage
company in UAE. External analysis i.e. PESTLE analysis presents both favorable and
unfavorable conditions of UAE which have both positive and adverse effects on organization.
The political factors in the country may have positive impact on Slices as it is a government
entity so it can get advantage from government (Hitt, et al, 2017). As a food and beverage
industry, it needs to comply with food and safety regulations of UAE government.
Moreover, the economy of UAE has a strong economic presence so organizations operating
business in the country do not face any issue with the changes in the economic factors like
interest rates, currency fluctuations, inflation rates, GDP etc. These factors can assist Slices
because it is new and investment made by organization on its stakeholders has an optimistic
impact. Increased purchasing power of people may have positive impact on the sales of Slices in
UAE. However, there are various people in the country who have health issues like obesity that

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affects the consumption of fast food products (Ohri-Vachaspati, et al, 2015). But still, the
company is able to generate significant revenue in the first that shows interest of people in fast
food and beverages. Technological factors are the most important factors which have positive
effect on the growth and success of Slices in UAE. Technology advancement is very high in the
country and firms are using modern technology to enhance their operations. Additionally, the
organization needs to comply with different rules and regulations imposed by government in the
country.
After analyzing the external environment, industry and competitive environment of Slices is
analyzed by using Porter’s five forces. The competition threat is very high in UAE food and
beverage sector as there are various well-established players. The customers are very loyal
towards competing brands so it can affect the growth of Slices adversely. The analysis shows
that threat of new entrants is low for the Slices as new entrants need to take the approval and
authorization from UAE government. Moreover, the bargaining power of suppliers is low to this
firm as there are many suppliers like Raw Coffee, Abu Dhabi Organics, Milk and Honey
Organic, Jam etc. Few of the food companies are using organic raw materials in their food
products (Yilmaz, Varnali and Kasnakoglu, 2016). Moreover, buyers have a higher extent of
power as all the organizations in food industry set the menu considering the needs and
preferences of customers.
By looking at the market conditions and their impact on the organization, Slices has developed
its core competencies so that it can deliver its products and services effectively. Core
competencies of Slices are such as physical assets like machinery and equipment. The
organization has hired the employees with effective skills and knowledge. The core
competencies of Slices provide various benefits to the business (Untaru & Ispas, 2013). It
provides the food by analyzing the taste and preferences of customers. These core competencies
can assist the organization to gain sustainable competitive advantage against its competing
brands. It indicates that company has the opportunities and potential to increase its customer base
by expanding business in international market.

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Thus, the analysis from first part indicates that currently Slices is engaged in the domestic market
but it can have future opportunities to expand the business operations in international market.
There are various issues which are currently faced by the organization in UAE food and
beverage industry. Considering them, there are some changes which are recommended in the
first part like it needs to adopt some effective strategies to establish a strong brand image in the
market. Furthermore, it needs to engage in corporate social responsibility that can assist the firm
to gain effective future growth in UAE (Yu, et al, 2016). Offering food with the healthy and
organic ingredients can assist the organization to attain sustainable competitive edge over major
players like McDonalds and Pizza Hut.
New strategies
The current positioning of the company shows that the Slices are confronting some issues in
UAE food and beverage industry. It needs to make some changes which can improve the
performance and position of Slices in the nation (Grönroos, 2007). This section includes the new
strategies which Slices should practice to gain competitive edge in its business environment:
Product Diversification
Slices is a new organization that does not have more brand recognition in UAE and international
market. To implement the above strategic changes, Slices should expand its product range. The
company can enhance its customer base by offering a wide range of products to its customers.
Currently, Slices offers organic and healthy food products to the students but now it should start
offering fast food that is made of healthy ingredients. Through this new food segment, it can
attract students and youngsters as they love to eat delicious food. In addition to this, it should
invent its products and cooking processes so that it can attract more customers. It should offer
the products with great value and great quality (McElheran, 2015).
Market Expansion
As mentioned above, Slices should expand its product or service range in the domestic market.
Considering the tangible and intangible competencies, it can be stated that organization is
planning to expand its business operations in international market. It can place itself in other

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developed nations like Australia, United States etc. Slices is facing intense competition in the
United Arab Emirates so this business expansion can assist the organization to fight with this
industry rivalry. Slices have lack of presence in both domestic and global markets and people are
not very much aware about its product and services (Ahearne, Lam and Kraus, 2014). By
adopting this new strategy, the organization will be able to increase its brand awareness
worldwide.
Enhancement in Social and Online Presence
Nowadays, this is the era of food porn and social media platforms so Slices can use online
platforms to increase its presence among a large population of UAE. It should implement a
strategic change by developing its business through online sales. Through its business operations,
Slices aims to enhance the eating habit of youngsters so it should offer its healthy and organic
products online. It will have positive impact on the business of Slices in the country. By adopting
this strategy, the company will be able to enhance its brand presence and to increase the
customer base from targeted population (Sheth, Sinha and Shah, 2016). Through online mode,
the firm will be able to promote its products and services on social media networking sites like
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube etc. Online sales will assist Slices to generate more
revenues and profits in competitive food sector in UAE.
Competitive strategy:
In addition to above strategies, Slices can implement an effective competitive strategy. It is one
of the most significant strategic changes which company should implement in its business
operations. Slices will implement a competitive strategy that will be working as its long term
plan to gain competitive edge over the competitors in the industry. The organization can aim to
create a defensive position in the industry and generate an excellent return on investment. The
organization needs to use tangible and intangible resources which assist it to improve the quality
of products. Slices should adopt a competitive strategy which cuts the intense competition from
the industry and reduces the related risks and issues (Lebovka, Chemat and Vorobiev, 2016).
Under this strategy, the company should categorize its products in different segments like
healthy and organic food, fast food, beverages etc. It will enable it to enhance its business

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operations and activities. The pricing of the products should be reasonable so that it can attract
lower and medium income level people.
Considering the above issues, the company should make the changes by the implementation of
above strategies. These strategies will provide various benefits to Slices and it will grow in UAE
as a leading player in food industry.
Benefits
The implementation of above strategies and strategic changes will be very beneficial to the
company and its customers as well. These benefits may be related to the tangible and intangible
resources of the company. To overcome the issues, Slices is planning to adopt different strategic
changes and strategies like product diversification, competitive strategy, market expansion and
enhancement of social and online presence. By using product diversification strategy, the
organization will be able to increase the variety of product offering to the customers. It will
enable the company to target a large population for its new products that eventually has positive
impact on the growth of Slices’ business. It should target the people who are living in UAE for
the purpose of education and employment. It will assist the organization to enhance its market
capabilities and increase the sales by 15% in the timeframe of next three years (Thompson and
Amoroso, 2014).
In addition to this, it can establish more stores in the strategic locations of UAE so that it can
increase the awareness of Slices (Kiss and Barr, 2015). By this, it will be able to increase its
sales in next three years. The strategies of the company shows that most of the customers will
prefer to purchase the products of Slices because its offers organic and healthy products to its
customers in UAE market. It will offer benefits to customers as they will be able to overcome the
health issues of obesity.
Market expansion strategy will be the most beneficial strategy for Slices as it will assist it to
increase its revenues by 20% in next three years. By expanding the business in international
market, the organization will be able to establish a strong global image. It will allow the firm to
create its goodwill in global food industry. For effective market expansion, the organization can

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use Greenfield investment strategies (Watson et al, 2017). Moreover, enhancement of online and
social presence will assist the organization to gain different intangible benefits like increase in
the customer base, capture large market share, enhance brand awareness etc. With the assistance
of e-business strategies, Slices can increase its brand presence by satisfying the needs and
demands of customers effectively (Charlesworth, 2018). The students will be able to order the
food online through online website and mobile application of Slices. By using effective supply
chain, the company will able to improve its operations. In this way, the strategic changes and
new strategies will offer benefits to both customers and company.
Recommendations
It is hereby recommended to Slices Organization that it should re-create its business model by
using Business Model Canvas. This business model canvas will assist the organization to create
value among students in UAE (Jabeen, Zamber and Khan, 2015). The recommended business
model canvas for Slices is given below:
Key Partners
 Raw material
suppliers
 Farmers
 Franchises
 Distribution
partners
 Customers
 Online partners
 Advertisement
agencies
Key Activities
 Offering organic
and healthy food
 Marketing and
promotion
 Selling and
distribution
 Quality assurance
and check
 After service
feedback from
customers (Slices,
2018)
Value Proposition
 Organic and
health food
offering
 Excellent food
quality
 Timely
delivery
 Tasty and
delicious food
 A variety of
food products
Customer
Relationships
 Direct
contact to
the
customers
through e-
mails.
 Customer
friendly
staff
 Establishi
ng loyalty
and trust
among
customers
 After
sales
feedback
Customer
Segments
 Food lovers
 20 to 50 years
old people
 Health
conscious
people

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Key Resources
 Food outlets
 Human resources
 Farmers
 Intellectual
property
 Brand image
Channels
 Social media
sites
 Print media
 Online website
of Slices
 Distribution
partners
 Direct mailing
 Personal Selling
 E-commerce
(Kiss and Barr,
2015)
Cost Structure
 Salaries to staff
 Purchase of raw materials
 Expenses on development of website and
mobile application
 Administrative expenses
 Advertising expenses
 Research and development costs
Revenue Streams
 Revenues from product offerings
 Online sales
 Payment through debit and credit cards
 Net Banking
 Licensing and franchises
 Direct selling of products
The above business model canvas presents different capabilities and resources of Slices which it
should use to attain competitive edge among its targeted audiences. It is recommended to the
organization that it should use this model to establish its business in moderate business
environment of UAE (Beske, Land and Seuring, 2014). It can implement this business model
through an implementation plan. It should be implemented through an action plan of 12 months.
With the help of this, the organization will be able to get growth and success in global food
industry.
Action Time Frame Responsible
person
Goal Related
Department
Analysis of issues
3 months Research and
development
To find out the
issues which are
Research and
development

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manager faced by
organization
Department
Discussion with the
team members
1 month R&D and senior
managers
To take the
opinion of other
people on the
issues
Top level
management
Establishment of
business Objectives
1 month Senior managers To resolve the
issues
Top
management
Proposal of the
required changes
2 months Marketing team To implement the
strategic changes
to issues.
Marketing
division
Implementation of
Strategies and
business model
canvas
3 months Marketing manager To enhance the
business
operations
Marketing
department
Evaluation of new
strategies
2 months Operations Head To analyse the
effectiveness of
strategies.
Operations
Division
Thus, the above action plan will assist Slices to implement new strategies to the issues which it
faces in the business environment of UAE. The company will establish different activities and
timeframe for each and every activity (Stadler, et al, 2018). This plan will assist to include all the
processes which are needed to implement strategic changes and recommendations to the
identified issues. It will enable the organization to enhance its brand awareness in UAE and gain
more popularity in food and beverage industry. All the responsibilities will be allocated to the
different departments and persons who will play their role under the supervision of top
management. In this way, the company will be able to attain its growth objectives in competitive
food industry.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it can be concluded that Slices need adopt effective marketing
competitive strategies so that it can deal with the issues in its business environment. It can be
stated that it can attain more growth and success by using the above business model canvas that
includes all the important components of business. By effective utilization of resources and

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capabilities, Slices will be able to attain its predetermined objectives in highly competitive food
industry. Thus, it can be founded that it is very important for a firm to analyze the market and
implement the strategies and tactics accordingly.