Strategic Management Report: Sanford Limited's Growth Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive strategic management analysis of Sanford Limited, a major player in the New Zealand seafood industry. It begins with an executive summary, followed by an introduction outlining the importance of strategic planning in today's business environment. The report then details the terms of reference, procedure, and findings, including an in-depth strategic analysis of Sanford Limited's internal and external environments. This analysis utilizes SWOT analysis to evaluate the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Furthermore, the report explores strategy formulation, covering corporate-level strategies, and discusses strategy implementation and resource allocation. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, and recommendations are provided to guide Sanford Limited's future strategic decisions, particularly concerning market expansion and maintaining its competitive edge. The report draws from secondary sources such as books, journals, and online articles.

STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT

1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In the competitive business of the modern day industries, it has become essential for
the firms to make sure that they have effective strategies for making edge in the market.
There are numerous challenges present in front of the companies like Sanford Limited which
is the market leader in New Zealand. This company aims to expand its reach into the new
markets. Cited company can take use of its strengths so as to grab the opportunities that are
present with them in order to ensure long term growth of the firm. Objective of this report is
to highlight the internal environment of the company in order to make and implement new
strategies. Other than this it also gives the idea about the possible strategies that could help
Sanford in achieving its goals.
Contents

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...........................................................................................................................0
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
Terms of Reference............................................................................................................................2
Procedure..........................................................................................................................................2
Findings and analysis.............................................................................................................................2
3.1 Strategic analysis.........................................................................................................................2
3.2 Strategic analysis.........................................................................................................................3
3.3 Strategy Formulation...................................................................................................................4
3.4 Strategy implementation and resources......................................................................................5
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................6
RECOMMENDATION..............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................6
Introduction
In the modern business environment, it has become essential for the companies to
make sure that they have a strategic edge over their competitors. This is not only necessary

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for the growth of the organisation but is also necessary for their survivals (David, 2011).
Strategic planning and implementation depends on several internal and external factors. It is
essential for the company to understand its position in the market as well as the amount of
resources it has. After evaluating this only they should make strategies for their operations.
Strategic affairs not only provide a company with a higher growth rate but also assist firms in
utilising their resources in a more planned manner (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2012).
Irrespective of the industry in which a firm is operational, it is necessary for them to make
plans accordingly.
Terms of Reference
The report is for Sanford Limited which is one of the largest companies in New Zealand and
is operational in the industry of fishing and trading of sea foods. This report is about strategic
affairs of the Sanford Limited in the current global scenario. This report highlights the
internal strengths of the company. It also illustrates about the strategic, corporate and
functional level strategies of the company.
Procedure
The information has been gathered by doing research based on the questions that has been
asked. The information was collected from the secondary sources such as books, journals,
online journals, blogs and many other internet articles.
Findings and analysis
3.1 Strategic analysis
3.1.1 Overview of the organisation
Sanford Limited is one of the best performing company in New Zealand. This
company deals in the business of selling and trading sea foods as well as is the major player
in the fishing Industry (Sanford Limited, 2014). Its operations include catching, processing,
storage and marketing of aqua culture products and other sea food items. This company was
established in the years 1904 and is headquartered in Tauranga On the northern coast of the
north island of New Zealand. This firm is listed in the New Zealand Exchange and is among
the 50th largest company inside the nation. In legal ways or say in terms of liability it is a
limited company that corresponds to limited partnership without having a general partner. Its
main fishing areas of this firm are the water territory of the New Zealand.

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3.1.2 Vision of the Organisation
Its Vision statements states that this company aims to become the Best Sea food company in
the world.
3.1.3 Mission of the company
Its mission states that it aims to make Sanford, the company of their choice for the people in
New Zealand and other parts of the world. They aim to achieve it by providing quality sea
food and marine products, with the use of innovative methods (Sanford Industries, 2018). It
aims to deliver value of the customers, stake holders, shareholders as well as employers. It
aims to get social license for operating.
3.1.4 Objectives of the organisation
The objectives of the organisation are as follows:
 To create fishing enterprise of international scale which is having large number of
products to meet the demands of the organised and more sophisticated international
consumer base.
 To accumulate scarce and sustainably manage wild and farmed seafood resources so
as to attain critical mass and international competitiveness from all phases of value
chain i.e. from production to consumers.
 To create a serious and long term capacity to invest in research and development
projects as well as making innovations on the global levels i.e. beyond the scope of
New-Zealand firm individually.
 To develop growth from joining with like-minded parties in order to move from the
present fragmented approach of the industry to the international markets, to firms that
are bigger and integrated in offering and moving distinctive and diverse marine
products from resources to consumers again in creating a stronger value chain for the
future.
 To continue to respect the interests and equality of shareholders as wealth creation is
achieved or pursued.
3.2 Strategic analysis
It is essential for every company to analyse its strategic positioning in the market
(Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). It is further necessary that firm puts their efforts in making

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strategies that gives them competitive edge over the other players in the same industry (Eden
& Ackermann, 2013). This cannot be done without doing the market analysis as well as well
as industry research. There are two major aspects of analysing the strategic positioning of the
company. First is to understand the internal strength of the firm and second is to make the
research on the industry that is according to the global status of the market. It is essential that
a company does environmental analysis. This helps them in giving idea about the ways in
which its approach must be started. In order to understand the position of the company in the
market there must be through evaluation of what are the capabilities of the company which
they can utilise for their future business (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman & Bamford, 2017). This
helps them in giving competitive edge over the others. A better understanding of the strengths
always helps firm in making plans in a better way.
There are several tools that are available for the company to understand the strategic
positioning of the company in the market (Slack, 2015). SWOT analysis is one such tool that
is highly capable of evaluating the internal environment of the company. It provides details
about the internal capabilities of the company which they can utilise for their future plans
(Barney & Hesterly, 2015).
SWOT analysis for Sanford is as follows:
Strengths
 It stands on the 50th position inside the New Zealand in terms of its business and
resources it has.
 This company has the rights to capture fish in the whole New Zealand Water territory.
This makes it one of the prime players in this industry. It is having its products sale in
entire nation and hence serving a very wide range (Sanford, 2018).
 This is having one of the largest chains of distributers that help them in their
operations related to distribution and sales. This helps company in reaching to
maximum possible consumers in the market.
 Products of the company are of higher quality and offer a great range of taste to the
consumer. It offers both fresh and iced food products. This helps them in luring the
taste buds of millions of consumers.
 There is very large range of products that this company offers in its portfolio. These
products are available at all the price range. This helps in having such a large base
consumers.

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 This company has its almost 96 % of all the territory inside the water. This makes it a
home to some of the world’s most prized seafood.
 It manages almost everything in its operational chart i.e. from capturing to delivering
it in the plates of the consumers hence a high value is added to its products.
 Bigger brand image inside New Zealand which works in the interest of its
shareholders.
 Good financial position in the market which helps them in tackling all the economic
challenges coming to them. It also helps company in their strategy making.
 It is having an experience of serving in this industry for more a century. It gives them
a deep knowledge of working inside the developed economy such as New Zealand. It
will give them an idea about the ways in which it should conduct their business in the
market.
 Monetary assistance is also provided by the government of England in their financial
distress. This will help company in stabilising its performance in the bad economic
mood of the market.
Weaknesses
 Its future cost structure is estimated to be poor especially in smaller units like by
products, services, customer, product line, geographic region or division.
 This company has lack of experience of operating in the international market
(Sanford, 2018). It reduces its chances of expanding in other potential markets where
it can gain higher profits.
 Poor performance in the last few years has added in company’s portfolio in a negative
sense.
 People are having lower brand knowledge about this company outside New Zealand.
Hence a lot of efforts will have to be done by the company’s management in order to
establish in the new markets.
 Even after a century of experience this company was unable to make its reach in the
other markets of south Asia or other parts of the world. This is an example of the
strategic failure over the years and total concentration towards the business inside
New Zealand.
Opportunities

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 This company is having higher scope of expansion in the developing markets.
Countries in the South Asian region are having highly dense population which can be
an excellent market for the country.
 The demand for the fresh sea food is increasing day by day all around the world
(Sanford, 2018). It provides an excellent opportunity for the company or their future.
 There are many venture capitals which provide excellent opportunity for the growth
of the company. These venture capitals can help company in their expansion plans.
Threats
 New Zealand is a developed economy and hence it is easier for Sanford to do their
business in this country. In the external market there is lots of instability which can
lead to business failure.
 There are large price changes in other parts of the world. Since the value of the New
Zealand currency is on the lower side and hence profits from trade in other parts of
the world can diminish (Sanford, 2018).
 There are lots of companies that have come into this business. This has made
competition highly threatening for the survival of the firms. In such a red ocean
market ensuring higher profits can be a difficult task.
 Any expansion plan needs investments for which loan can be required but the
increasing rate of interest and enhanced taxes all around the world has created serious
problems for the cited firm.
 There has been increase in the price of raw materials and in future it is expected to
increase at much faster rate. This has reduced the margins of profit for the company
ads they cannot increase the price of their products due to excessive price war in the
industry.
 Economic barriers can be seen in the many regions of the world due to the dispute
over use of water territories for business purpose. Apart from this government
regulation of environment protection has also demoralised the industry.
3.3 Strategy Formulation
After analysing market it is essential that a company develops its strategy as per the
requirement of the cited firm. These strategies must be different from their competitors so
that they achieve edge over others (Rothaermel, 2015).
Corporate level strategies

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This strategy is considered with the decision making that is capable of affecting the entire
organisation (Peteraf, Gamble & Thompson, 2014). It can be understood as the careful
analysis of the selection of the business in which it can successfully compete in (Lasserre,
2017). Four corporate level strategies for the cited firm is as follows:
 Growth strategy: This Company can adopt a strategy that is focused towards the
growth of the organisation and can be measured by the metrics like revenue, profit,
sales, assets etc. They can expand their business in the developing markets where the
cost of investment is less while there is large population to serve for.
 Concentration strategy: This strategy can be utilised by the company for producing
products range that is having real growth potential (Stringer, Simmons & Rees, 2011).
Company can concentrate on additional resources on the product line to enhance its
participation in the value chain of the product.
 Diversification strategy: This strategy is highly beneficial for the cited company as
offering large range of products can be helpful in luring the taste buds of the
maximum number of clients.
 Stability strategy: This strategy can be utilised by the cited firms so as to stabilise its
business in terms. This can be done by adopting strategy such as no change or proceed
with caution strategy.
Four Business level strategies
These strategies are used for having competitive edge over their rivals (Killen, Jugdev,
Drouin & Petit, 2012). Four business level strategies for this company are as follows:
 Focused diversification: This Company can target a small group of consumers and
provide them with range of products. This strategy is highly beneficial when a
particular segment of the market want any specific products.
 Focused low cost: This Company can adopt a strategy where they can lower down the
cost of products as per the demand of any particular segment of the market. This helps
company in competing with its rivals on the basis of price.
 Differentiation: This strategy can be utilised by the company in order to serve for
larger section of population. More products available in the company’s portfolio,
more is the chances to attract larger consumer base.
 Cost leadership: This strategy can be used by the company in order to attract more
consumers towards its products. Cost leadership provides unprecedented edge over

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the other competitors. For adopting this strategy first of all company has to enhance
its operational efficiency.
Four functional Level strategies
This strategy is at the lower level of hierarchy but it highly associated with the performance
of the firm (Frynas & Mellahi, 2015). Four functional level strategies for Sanford limited are
as follows:
 Marketing: This strategy is highly essential for the company as it helps in building the
image of the firm as well as promoting their products in front of their potential
consumers (Luo, Sun & Wang, 2011). In modern businesses, better the marketing
strategy better the chances that they can achieve success.
 Channel of Distribution strategy: This strategy is beneficial for the company as better
distribution channels can help in managing their demand and supply chain (Engert,
Rauter & Baumgartner, 2016). It will be better that cited firm prefers to distribute
their products through market intermediaries.
 Pricing strategy: This strategy can be highly beneficial for the cited company. This
helps company in ensuring profits while achieving leadership in terms of price in the
industry.
 Financial strategy: This strategy can be used by the company so as to make sure that
they are achieving profits even after investing in new areas. A better financial strategy
always helps firms in gaining higher revenues from their business. This includes
acquiring of capitals, making decisions of their use and making capital structure.
3.4 Strategy implementation and resources
3.4.1 Strategy development and choice
The selected strategy for the cited company is Ansoff growth matrix. This strategy gives
strategic edge in the new or existing markets (Johnston & Girth, 2012). As this company aims
to grow in the developing nation this strategy can be helpful. There are five strategies that is
subdivided into this strategy
 Diversification: It is always beneficial when company aims to enter into some new
country as it helps to attract larger number of consumers towards the products of the
company (Schermerhorn, Davidson, Poole, Woods, Simon & McBarron, 2014). In the

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case of Sanford Limited vertical and concentric diversification can be highly
beneficial.
 Product development: This strategy is also helpful in making edge in the new market
(Stewart & Callagher, 2011). This is due to the reason that with the use of this
strategy Sanford limited can enhance their existing product range which helps in
targeting different taste lovers.
 Market development: This strategy is used by the company for entering into some
other market where they were not previously present (Simmons & Stringer, 2014).
This is done with the use of existing product range it has. This can be done in some
foreign market, some other regions of the same nation where it was previously
present. Sanford will require new investors to carry on with this strategy.
 Market penetration: This strategy can also be adopted by the cited firm so as to
increase its reach in the New Zealand market only. Market share of the firm can be
increased within the existing market segment (Hussain, Khattak, Rizwan & Latif,
2013). This can be achieved by selling more sea foods to the existing market base or
by finding the new set of consumers in the existing market. This will be slightly a
difficult strategy to implement as the population of New Zealand is not so much.
3.4.2 Approach to implementation of strategy
In order to implement new strategy there are various approaches that can be utilised
by Sanford limited. Change approach can be beneficial in this case. In this approach
company is modified in a way that both this strategy can be implemented in a better way. It
makes the process of decision making easier but also takes a whole lot of time. In order to
implement Ansoff matrix strategy it is essential that company enhances its efficiency by
taking use of modern technologies or reduction in the number of failures. Smoothening of the
work process can help cited firm in reducing its cost of operations. For this there will many
changes that will be required. On the other hand for inculcating diversification strategy cited
firm has to make changes in research area so as to understand the demands of the target
consumers.
Apart from this collaborative approach can also be taken into use where senior and middle
level managers works with each other for successfully implementing the Ansoff matrix
strategies. It helps in making sure that there is no loop holes present while implementing this
strategy.

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3.4.3 Resources for implementing strategy
Three resources that are required for implementation of the strategy are:
 Financial backup: A good pocket always helps a firm to remove barriers related to the
monetary requirements while implementing strategies like product development and
diversification (Simister, 2011). The monetary funds that will be required in the
market development can also be done with the help of this resource.
 Skilled labourers: In any organisation it is essential that a company has a skilled
labour force (Rudnicki & Vagner, 2014). This helps in making the process of
implementation easier as well as adds value to the whole process. Training is required
when any new strategy is implemented within the firm.
 Technology: If a company uses higher quality technology then it always helps them in
implementation of the strategy like product development and diversification. This is
the must requirement in modern day business.
Conclusion
From the above based report it can be said that concluded that Sanford limited is performing
well in New Zealand in the industry of trading and marketing of Sea food items. It is
necessary for the company to make sure that have planned a good strategy for tackling all the
issues that are faced by the company in present time as well as those that will come in future.
Ansoff matrix can be a better strategy for the company for ensuring its growth in the market.
Resources like financial backup, technology and skilled labours makes the process of strategy
implementation easier.
RECOMMENDATION
For the Sanford Limited it is necessary to train their employees in a manner that they
become competent to face the global economic challenges that could help them in their
expansion process. On the other hand they need to implement new set of advanced
technologies that could benefit them in making the whole process smoother. They also need
to find the like-minded partners so as to expand into new markets as they can utilise each
other’s competencies to become successful. There top leadership will also need to make new
strategies that help them in attracting new customers like the use of cost leadership strategy.

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