MGT3009: Eurostar's Supply Chain Expansion: A Critical Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Eurostar International Limited's supply chain expansion, examining the company's strategies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report begins with an introduction to Eurostar, its operations, and its partnerships. It then delves into the theoretical concepts underpinning supply chain management and the decision-making process behind Eurostar's expansion. A detailed SWOT analysis is conducted to evaluate the company's expansion efforts, considering factors such as technology, online booking systems, outsourcing, and security concerns. Furthermore, the report explores how Eurostar forecasts demand through seasonal trends, discounts, and additional services. The analysis also reviews academic journal articles on strategic alliances and their application to Eurostar's context, highlighting the importance of efficient supply chain management in the transportation industry. The report aims to provide insights into Eurostar's expansion strategies, challenges, and future prospects, offering a critical evaluation of its supply chain management practices.

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Introduction
Eurostar International Limited is an organisation that has been operational since 1994,
and it is in the transport industry. The company deals with transporting customers from one point
to another by using its new technology trains. The types of trains that are used at Eurostar are
fast speed trains, and that is what has helped the company to be operational in different nations
across Europe. Calais, Lyon, Avignon, Belgium, Holland, Lille, and France are some of the
destinations of the fast speed trains, and that means that the company serves an international
clientele. Eurostar has been able to serve a big number of customers because it has been working
with other organisations on its mission to meet the needs of the customers. Some of the
organisations that have been working closely with Eurostar are GoMedia, TMXRail, Union Bank
of Switzerland, Her Majesty Treasury among others. Despite the fact that the company provides
travelling services to its customers, it also provides other services such as hotel services, car hire,
premium services, business lounge, loyalty programs, and many more. The company can offer
services that are beyond its jurisdiction because of the partnerships that it has created with some
of its stakeholders. The objective of the report is to analyse the implementation of the expansion
of Eurostar’s supply chain. The report will be looking at some of the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats that can either make the expansion easier or more challenging.
Eurostar’s expansion of the supply chain
In the last few years, Eurostar has used different strategies to expand its supply chain.
The company is currently operating in more than one nation in Europe, and it does not solely
handle all business processes that are associated with its operations (Jabbour and de Sousa
Jabbour, 2016). The first way in which the company has expanded its supply chain is by

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engaging other organisations in reaching customers and offering customers with the services that
they need (Wang, Wallace, Shen, and Choi, 2015). The first area is IT, and this is the area where
the company has been outsourcing the services of an organisation that takes care of its online
booking services. At Eurostar, the customer is not required to be present at the station to book a
train but all the customer needs is to have access to the online platforms of the company and
make an order.
Different factors affect the supply chain positively or negatively. One of the factors in the
case of Eurostar is associated with the provision of services during travels. The company has
partnered with different organisations that affect the process of delivering services positively. In
the transport industry, there is the aspect of comfort, and it affects the way the customers
embrace the services and products of the company (Fahimnia, Sarkis, and Davarzani, 2015).
Some of the factors that affect the supply chain in the transport industry are the availability of
essential amenities, the availability of comfort, and the delivery of quality services during the
travel (Ross, 2016). At Eurostar, other organisations have been involved, and they all work
towards making sure that the company has all that it needs to promote customer satisfaction.
The theoretical concepts of the expansion decision of supply chain of Eurostar are supply
chain management, the movement of services from the point of origin to the point of storage, and
supply chain integration. A supply chain is termed as the channel that facilitates the movement of
goods and services from one point to another (Rajeev, Pati, Padhi, and Govindan, 2017). The
goods or services are taken from the point of manufacturing or the point of origin to the point of
consumption (Brindley, 2017). In this process, it is essential to note that many activities can take
place. Depending on the organisation and the strategies that the organisation has put in place, the
different processes that are involved in a supply chain can be carried out by the company or the

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company can choose to involve other parties (Christopher, 2016). In the case of Eurostar's
expansion, the company has different options. The first option is to take care of each process as
an organisation or to involve other organisations. In the current situation at Eurostar, it is evident
that different parties are involved in the process of making sure that the products get to the
customers.
Eurostar has the main aim of making sure that the services get to the customers. The
company has the intention of not only providing a service to the customers, but it also has the
intention of making sure that the services are of high quality (Wang and Cullinane, 2015). The
decision that an organisation makes when it comes to the model of the supply chain that it adopts
is dictated by the type of results that the company wants. The decision-making process is
essential, and it is one of the processes that has fostered the idea of expansion at Eurostar. Apart
from the aspect of decision making, the company has another task of identifying the options that
are in place and selecting the option that best helps to drive its mission (Cooper, 2017). In this
case, there is the aspect of evaluating the companies that are in the market with the main of
making sure that they can deliver the services in line with the expectations of the company
(Heizer, Render, Munson, and Sachan, 2017). The expansion of the supply chain of Eurostar is
supposed to help the company to make some steps in reaching more customers as well as
increasing its profits. One of the reasons why the company has selected to work with other
organisations and also to outsource most of the services is because the company has the intention
of having an efficient supply chain (Chopra and Meindl, 2016). Specialisation is one of the
aspects that promote efficiency, and this is one of the reasons why the company has chosen to
work with other companies so that they can deliver their best and this is because they are
qualified in executing their mandate.

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Eurostar is an organisation that has been providing its services in different points but it
has currently focused on the mainland, and therefore it does not offer offshore services.
However, the company has plans of extending its services to different parts and regions. The
company utilises different strategies to forecast the demand for its services. The first strategy is
associated with seasons. Different seasons have effects on the activities of the customers. For
example, during holiday seasons, it is evident that the number of customers increases because
most people move from a place to another. The second strategy is associated with discounts.
Eurostar is an organisation that offers stiff competition to some airlines, and this is because of
the speed of its vessels. When the company offers discounts to its customers, the response affects
the demand of its customers. The third strategy is associated with additional services, and this is
why the company offers services like car hire and hotel services. When the needs of the
customers are taken care beyond their expectations, they are likely to seek the services of the
company. Additional services increase comfort, and at the same time, they make the journey
more enjoyable and therefore they are likely to increase the number of customers. The weather is
also another factor that affects the demand for the services of Eurostar. Air travel is sometimes
faced with the challenge of the weather, and that affects Eurostar positively because its
operations cannot be affected by the weather.
Based on the strategies that Eurostar employs to forecast the demand, some of the factors
that affect the demand forecasting are economic setbacks, the weather, and competition.
However, the company has been on the right track when it comes to making the right forecast
decisions. The company has not experienced gaps while providing services to the customers and
that means that it meets the needs and demands of customers most of the times. The fact that the
company serves customers from different countries has helped the company to have a wide

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variety of customers, and that is one of the reasons that the company has never fallen short of
customers. In this respect, it is appropriate to state that the margin of error is minimal when it
comes to the process of forecasting the demand.
SWOT
Strengths
Different factors must be considered before an organisation can decide on expanding.
When it comes to the case of Eurostar, there are different strengths that are associated with the
expansion. The first strength is associated with the type of technology that the company is using.
An organisation that wants to expand must have services that are appealing and attractive to the
customers (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, and Patterson, 2015). The reason behind it is
associated with the fact that this is an organisation that wants to start serving more customers
than it is currently serving. Therefore, if the services are not competitive, the company has no
chances of attracting more customers (Stadtler, 2015). The trains that the company has been
using are fast speed trains, and that means that the company is offering a convenient service to
the customers(Formentini and Taticchi, 2016). In terms of technology, there is also the aspect of
using online platforms to book travels (Genovese, Acquaye, Figueroa, and Koh, 2017). Eurostar
has attracted more customers by having an online service that makes it easier for the customers
to book their travels when they are at the comfort of their homes.
Weaknesses
The decision to expand a business can be frustrated by the weaknesses of the company.
The reason behind it is associated with the fact that this is an organisation that is looking into
ways of reaching more customers (Mangan, Lalwani, and Lalwani, 2016). Therefore, if it has

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failed to meet the needs of the current customers, the company is exposed to the risk of not being
in the best position to promote the change of expansion. One of the weaknesses that the company
is dealing with is the outsourcing of most of its services. The strategy of using many
organisations to meet the needs of the customers is excellent, but there are dangers that are
involved. It is essential to note that at this point, the organisation in charge does not make
decisions alone and this is because it does not deliver the services alone. When it comes to the
expansion of a business, it is essential for an organisation to be in control (Dubey et al. 2017).
When there are other parties that affect the decision-making process, it means that the company
might be frustrated at some point. For example, if one of the partners decided not to support the
idea of expansion, it means that the company would need to go back to the drawing board so that
it can come up with a better strategy. In this case, the company might suffer in terms of finances
and also growth.
The next weakness is associated with the security aspect, and this is because there have
been cases of insecurity when it comes to the borders of some nations and in this case, France is
one of the countries that have been affected. Before a company can start looking into ways of
expanding to other areas, it is essential for the company to make sure that it is efficient in the
current areas of operation (Touboulic and Walker, 2015). When there are no assurances that the
company will be effective, it becomes a challenge to trust that the company will meet the needs
of the new customers that it is targeting. If an organisation cannot prove that it can secure its
current infrastructure, adding more routes and customers is likely to cripple the security of the
company’s infrastructure. In this case, Eurostar is frustrated to expand, and this is because it has
failed to take good care of the security situations in its current situation.
Opportunities

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Eurostar is exposed to different opportunities that it can utilise to promote the expansion
of its supply chain. The first opportunity is associated with the reputation of the company and the
vessels that the company has been using to transport its customers from one point to another
(Hugos, 2018. The trust that customers have with the company despite its shortcomings is an
opportunity to increase is customers and to expand (Wang, Gunasekaran, Ngai, and
Papadopoulos, 2016). Human beings are social beings, and they are likely to spread the word on
the brand image of a given organisation (Teixeira, Jabbour, de Sousa Jabbour, Latan, and De
Oliveira, 2016). In this case, it means that the customers have already passed the word on the fast
trains that travel from one destination to another. It means that the company has the opportunity
to expand and this is because the company has the best resources as well as a brand image to
increase its operations.
The second opportunity is associated with the reputation of the company as well as the
big number of customers that it serves (Su et al. 2016). In this case, the opportunity is associated
with the aspect of outsourcing services from other organisations. Irrespective of the fact that
outsourcing services are a weakness, it can also be an opportunity (Ayers and Odegaard, 2017).
Most organisations which have invested in businesses that are related to the services that
Eurostar outsources would like to work with Eurostar for different reasons. The first reason is
associated with the fact that the company has an already established market and this means that
all the companies will need to do is to set up their businesses and start making profits (Kshetri,
2018). Establishing a business in the modern world of business can be a challenging process, and
this is because it takes time to stabilise a business (Schoenherr and Speier‐Pero, 2015).
Therefore, when there is an opportunity of a ready market, it is more likely that there is no
organisation that would pass it and that means that as soon as the company starts working on its

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expansion, partners will flock in with the willingness to work with Eurostar. The third
opportunity is associated with the finances and partners of the company (Meixell and Luoma,
2015). Eurostar is working with banks, and it is also in a good financial position (Liou,
Tamošaitienė, Zavadskas, and Tzeng, 2016). In this case, it means that the company can choose
to stop outsourcing most of its services and establish internal departments that would help to
speed up its agenda of expansion.
Threats
In the current state, Eurostar is facing some threats, and this is because of its current
structure. The company is delivering a lot of services to the customers, but it is only responsible
for a few of the services (Chin, Tat, and Sulaiman, 2015). Therefore, it means that if the
company has no full control of the services, there is a threat even if the company expanded its
supply chain (Fredendall and Hill, 2016). The first threat, in this case, is having a lot of
companies that are involved in the supply chain (Simpson and Power, 2016). The company
might not deliver in line with the expectation of Eurostar and when the image of a brand is
tarnished, the company is not in the best position to make expansion because it might not amuse
customers or attract them to come and purchase its services (Giannakis and Papadopoulos,
2016).
Conclusion
Eurostar has been in business for a long time and despite the fact that there are some
shortcomings; the company is in the best position to expand its supply chain. After evaluating
some of the reasons that can affect the expansion positively and evaluating some of the reasons
that can affect the expansion negatively, the reasons that can promote the expansion have

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surpassed the reasons that can frustrate its expansion. First, it is essential to note that expansions
do not take place because there are no threats present. A company might be going through rough
times but that does not limit is from expanding to other areas of operation. The supply chain is
affected by some factors, and as long as the factors can be dealt with, the supply chain can be
expanded. However, there are reasons that can lead to the complete frustration of the expansion
of the supply chain. One of the reasons that can frustrate the expansion of the supply chain is the
lack of customers in the targeted regions. In the case of Eurostar, it is evident that the company
has targeted locations that have a social class that can afford its services.
The other reason that can frustrate the expansion of the supply chain is political
instability in the region that has been targeted. For example, if the company was targeting a
nation that is in war, it would be a challenging decision to make. However, in this case, the
countries that the company targets are peaceful. Apart from looking into some of the reasons that
frustrate the expansion of the supply chain, it is also essential to look into the capabilities of the
company that is targeted in this case. Amid challenges, the capabilities of an organisation to deal
with the challenges dictate if the company can be given the benefit of the doubt. Looking at the
factors that affect Eurostar, it is evident that the company is in the best position to deal with the
factors.
The threat of many outsourcing companies comes in place to affect the expansion
decision. However, the aspect of partnerships with strong brands helps the company to overcome
the challenges. At the same time, it is essential to look at the financial position of the
organisation. Therefore, it means that if the company wants to take back the services and have an
internal body that is working on them, it would not be a hard task. Eurostar is in a good financial

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position to deal with its operations. In this case, the challenge of outsourcing cannot bar the
company from expanding its operations.
The issue of Brexit cannot be used to frustrate the expansion of the supply chain. Many
organisations operate from one nation to another irrespective of the fact that the nations do not
belong to the same union. The world has grown into a global village, and that means that doing
business from one country to another has been made easier than ever before. In this case, the
company cannot shy off from expanding its supply chain simply because there are political
outcomes that might affect its operations.
Global Supply Chain Networks help an organisation to reach a bigger percentage of the
customers, and they can dictate the expansion of a supply chain. When an organisation has
strong supply chain networks, it is in the best position to grow. WIT is a technology that Eurostar
has adopted, and it has helped to connect the company to global customers. The adoption of
modern technology has exposed most adults to the internet, and that has created the largest
global network that is being used for social and business purposes. The expansion decision will
entail increasing more destinations, trains, and partners. At the same time, the company will
increase infrastructure, and this is because of its uniqueness. The company will connect with
other railway stations with the main aim of using their stations as destinations, and this will
increase travels without incurring the costs of setting up more railway stations. With the
resources and the global network that the company has established, it will be easier to reach
more customers.

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