Strategic Management: Webster Limited - Agribusiness Strategies Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Webster Limited, a fiber-focused agribusiness operating in Australia. It begins with an executive summary, followed by an introduction to strategic management and its application to the company. The report identifies Webster Limited's business units, which include cotton production, walnut production, and water management, and discusses the significance of its largest revenue unit, cotton production. It then explores the different business level strategies employed by the company, such as cost leadership and differentiation, with an emphasis on the integrated cost leadership-differentiation strategy. The report also includes a model of competitive reality, an implementation plan, and a SWOT analysis. Finally, it offers recommendations for the future strategic direction of Webster Limited, emphasizing the importance of sustainable practices and efficient resource management. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and insights into Webster Limited's strategic approach.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Strategic management
Name of student
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Executive summary
The report was prepared to discuss about the various aspects of strategic management
considering the business organization named Webster Limited in Australia. The company has
been a manufacturer and producer of good quality cotton fiber used for the making of clothes and
other fiber products. There were multiple business units that managed the production of cotton
fiber, walnuts and even managed water systems to ensure that the business comply with the
requirements and standards of the organization. The company followed the integrated cost
leadership and differentiation strategies to ensure that the costs incurred while managing the
business operations and processes could be reduced and the products could be differentiated
easily from the products delivered by the other companies in the marketplace. Lastly, few
recommendations were provided like implementation of Integrated Pest Management,
management of water licenses and assessment of feasibility, which could further assist Webster
Limited to ensure successful business functioning along with management of sustainability and
production of more quantities of cotton fiber.

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Table of Contents
Strategic management......................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Identification of a Fiber focused Agribusiness operating in Australia............................................3
Business units, products and service lines.......................................................................................4
Significance of largest business revenue units’...............................................................................5
Different business level strategies...................................................................................................8
Cost leadership.............................................................................................................................9
Cost differentiation....................................................................................................................10
Integrated Cost Leadership-Differentiation Strategy.................................................................11
Analysis of the Agribusiness’ business level strategy...................................................................12
Model of competitive reality.........................................................................................................14
Competitive advantage reality model............................................................................................16
Implementation plan and an evaluation strategy...........................................................................18
SWOT analysis for Webster Limited.........................................................................................19
Recommendations for the future strategic direction......................................................................23
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................25
References......................................................................................................................................25

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Introduction
The Strategic Management considers the evolvement and implementation of various
strategies by the business organizations to ensure that the organizational goals and objectives are
met and the business activities are managed quite conveniently. The management of strategies
are associated with the business functioning and it has the ability to improve the business
functioning along with increased production and higher revenue generation too. The business
organization that has been selected as the case study is this report is the Webster Limited in
Australia, which is a fiber focused agribusiness in Australia with its focus on cotton production
and can be used for the production of paddock to clothing and other useful materials used by
people all over Australia and in other parts of the world (Robson 2015). Overall, the strategic
management is the continuous planning, analysis and monitoring of the various important
components required to develop and implement strategies and accomplishes the business goals
and objectives with ease and efficiency. The strategic management also means managing the
human resources and other business aspects for maximizing the ability to achieve the business
objectives and keep a close eye on establishing future directions for business success and
enhanced growth opportunities. The report will focus on the agribusiness concepts along with the
business units and different business level strategies implemented such as the cost leadership and
cost differentiation strategies and finally will recommend necessary measures for future strategic
direction of the business named Webster Limited in Australia (websterltd.com.au 2018).
Identification of a Fiber focused Agribusiness operating in Australia
The fiber focused agribusiness operating in Australia is the Webster Limited, Australia,
which is one of the leading and most established agribusiness company. It is an organization with

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rich diversity and has been operating for more than a decade and has been involved in various
agribusiness activities through stronghold connection to the agricultural industry in Australia.
Due to this, the company has remained competitive in the marketplace and is known for its
excellence and commitment towards sustainable agricultural activities along with the production
of cotton fibre required for padding to cloths and other materials. (Hill, Jones and Schilling
2014) The company has been focused on three major business including the agriculture of
cotton, production of walnuts and water management. Most importantly, the organization has
conserved the natural resources properly that are fundamental to what the company has been
doing and what will be done in the upcoming years. The primary focus of the company is on
cotton production with the use of various new technologies and expertise, which has enabled
maximization of yield and brought water efficiency, thus increasing the capability to manage
production of more than 200000 bales of cotton every year (Hill 2017). The agricultural
processes are managed through acquisition of Tandou, Kooba and Bengerangm which has helped
in the growth and development of business as well as allowed the company to produce
complimentary crops that have been supported through strategic and value enhancing water
efficient technologies and equipments. There are extensive grazing farmland that produce 10,000
lambs on an annual basis for the production of cotton and wool that are later processed through
advanced technologies for the production of quality based clothing and other materials suitable
for the humans to use (Eden and Ackermann 2013).
Business units, products and service lines
There are various business units managed by the company and thus Webster Limited in
Australia has focused not only on the production of cotton, but also has been one of the largest

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producers of walnuts and water management. The major business units include agriculture
business or agribusiness, walnuts’ production and managing diverse portfolio of water
entitlement (Hitt and Duane Ireland 2017). The company holds currently more than 40000
hectares of fertile land that are used for irrigation purposes for the production of cotton, corn and
other cereals while the extensive grazing lands serve as useful lands for sheep. The company
maintains a diverse portfolio that includes 200000 mega liters of water entitlement use for
irrigation power management and is useful for managing the crops production (Wheelen et al.
2017). It has provided the company an added advantage to manage the crop production with
ease, furthermore provide crop diversity along with the maximization of yield and pursuing
better growth scopes and opportunities to sustain in the competitive agricultural business
environment at present in Australia. The natural resources are managed properly, which has
created ease for the company to manage business in a sustainable manner considering as much as
lesser impact can be created on the environment to preserve the ecological balance in nature
(Rothaermel 2015). The business units are managed through diverse business operations and
processes through maintenance of sustainable asset base and leveraging the scale through use of
technological skills and technical expertise. This has not only deliver excellence in terms of the
products delivered to the clients, but also has maximized the productivity of the organization and
benefited the shareholders who have invested on the organization (Meyer, Neck and Meeks
2017).
Significance of largest business revenue units’
The largest business revenue unit for Webster Limited in Australia is the cotton
production and secondly, the production of in-shell premium and kernel walnuts that hold about

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more than 90 percent of annual walnut production in Australia. Still, the primary focus has been
on the production of cotton that has been achieved through focus on the vision and mission
statement considering the use of latest technologies and expertise of workers to increase the
yield, furthermore manage water efficiency and usefulness to ensure that the consistency of
producing 200,000 bales of cotton every year is maintained (Gamble, Thompson and Peteraf
2013). More than 10,000 lambs are grazed for the production of wool and produce fiber based
materials required for padding to clothing and other useful materials. The agricultural fiber based
agribusiness products are exported to many countries all over Asia and with most of the produces
made available at Australia, the company has gained a string reputation and brand image due to
its consistent quality and price friendly components. The customers nowadays focus on quality
and thus the Australian fiber based agribusiness has focused on delivering the best, whether it is
the cotton fiber or walnuts through management of supply chains properly for meeting the
demands in the market segments (Lasserre 2017).
Another important business unit is the walnut plantation and growing walnuts that has
already accounted for more than 90 percent of overall walnut production in Australia. The
company, being proactive about its management of natural resources, has managed its diverse
operations and processes and made sure to develop a strong asset base that can leverage the scale
through technical knowledge and skills, furthermore benefit both the organization and its
shareholders or the individuals who have invested on the organization (Morschett, Schramm-
Klein and Zentes 2015). As the name suggests according to agribusiness, Webster Limited,
Australia has focused on the sustainable farming to achieve the long term goals by maintaining
more than 40,000 hectares of land that are fertile and suitable for the agricultural purposes. The

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agricultural activities and growing the walnut plantations has been supported by harnessing of
water portfolio, which has maximized the profitability and developed the business in
complementary crops that are supported by value adding water management activities (Vogel
and Güttel 2013). The operational processes managed by Webster consist of vertical integration
that starts with the production of nursery and then developing trees for planting and then
managing the walnut orchards, thus making it convenient for the harvesting and drying for the
fruit production. The quality finished products are the kernel and in-shell walnut, which have
been exported directly to all parts of Australia from the farm. According to Stead and Stead
(2014), the high quality food production ensures maintaining the food safety laws and rules and
is supplied to the direct end users, i.e., the customers and even to the retail shops to meet the
demands in different market segments (Stead and Stead 2014). The orchards managed by the
company are present in over 2000 hectares of area located n both New South Wales and
Tasmania. The business unit can also be called as the Horticulture business unit that produces the
in-shell and kernel walnuts in Australia. The continuous addition in orchard portfolio has made
the business unit strong and has facilitated the addition of 900 hectares more at the west of NSW,
which guarantees increase in walnut production by around 20 percent in the upcoming years as
well (Goetsch and Davis 2014). The business unit where the manufacturing and production
processes are managed is present at Leeton, where the cracking of walnut and processing
facilities are present. This business unit manages the packaging and delivery of both in-shell and
kernel walnut and ensured that the customers’ needs and preferences are met. Due to this, the
customers have also relied highly upon the company’s dedication and commitment towards the
delivery of quality authorization and best practices (Hahn 2013).

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In spite of the business unit managing the walnut production in Australia, still the
company’s main priority has been on the agribusiness cotton fiber production of more than
200000 bales of cotton annually. The business unit has been set up neat the Murray Darling
Basin, which has create for Webster Limited in Australia to grow the agricultural division and
produce cotton that are later transferred to different mills and clothing manufacturers for creating
clothes and other fabric items (Pearce and Robinson 2013). According to various reports, though
there was heavy rainfall in Australia, still the business units have maintained the cotton fibre
growing plants and ensured that the pollination in Riverina could be successful, which brought
good amount of yield as well. Sometimes, even during the high temperatures, the irrigating
cotton growing lands’ average yield was more than 13.28 bales per hectare during the last year.
The business units manage the large scale operations and focused on the production of more
cotton per hectare to bring out the best quality fiber (Bettis et al. 2014). Thus, it could be devised
that the cotton production business unit has been the largest and it has generated the highest
revenue for the agribusiness named Webster Limited in Australia.
Different business level strategies
The organization’s attractiveness and reputation lies in the fact about how much profit
has been gained and its position with the agribusiness industry. There are various generic
strategies including the cost leadership and cost differentiation that form the strategic planning
and have allowed the businesses to flourish and maximize the production. As stated by Morden
(2016), the business level strategies are integrated and a combination of various activities that the
firm utilizes to make sure that a competitive edge over its competitors is made and the core
competencies and skills are exploited properly within the various market segments (Morden

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2016). To select the most important business level strategies, the companies need to identify who
to serve, who are the targeted consumers that they need to satisfy and finally how their needs and
requirements can be fulfilled. The business level strategies including the cost leadership and cost
differentiation strategies have already allowed the companies to make a wider reach to its
customers and cerate richness through efficient flow and exchange of information among the
business and its customers (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2015). Thus, it could be understood that the
business level strategies are core concepts about how the companies need to use the core skills
and competencies to deliver value and put the customers’ needs at first, furthermore exceed their
expectations and continuously innovate with time. This will not enhance the company’s abilities,
but will also allow the organization to gain a sustainable position in the marketplace, that too,
within a competitive agri-business industry (Alkhafaji and Nelson 2013). The Integrated Cost
Leadership-Differentiation Strategy is another major business level strategy that has been used
by the business organizations nowadays.
Cost leadership
Harrison and John (2013) stated that the cost leadership strategy allows undertaking
various integrated actions for the production of good quality goods and deliver the best quality
services that can meet the customers;’ needs and preferences. The products and services should
be offered at lower prices, without compromising on its quality and the same thing has been done
Webster Limited I Australia during the production and delivery cotton fiber in all over Australia.
The business units of the companies do handle the primary and support activities to ensure that
the costs incurred during the management of business operations are lowered and high
competitive level of differentiation is maintained all throughout (Harrison and John 2013). The

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primary activities include management of logistics, supply chain activities and outbound logistics
whereas the support activities include procurement of strategies along with management of
human resources properly to meet the criteria of the company. The goods and services are
generally standardized for the cost leadership strategy, because it can allow the organization to
sell those at a considerably lower price without facing any decline in sales or profit level (Ray
Gehani 2013).
Cost differentiation
The cost differentiation strategy has enabled the companies to offer its products with
innovative and distinguishable features that are valuable for the customers and can also make
them differentiate those products from the products offered by other companies. Based on the
statements provided by Greco, Cricelli and Grimaldi (2014), this can establish the company’s
position in the competitive marketplace and at the same time, create scopes to access the
scientific researches and form string, highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce (Greco,
Cricelli and Grimaldi 2013). This will enhance the sales and marketing effectiveness and
maintain a strong reputation through innovation and consistency in quality based products. The
cost differentiation not only means bringing uniqueness in products’ features and benefits, but
also set some lower prices or higher prices to compete with the competitors and make sure to
attract the right targeted market segments to increase the customer base (Simon, Fischbach and
Schoder 2014).

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Figure: Model for business level strategies (Simon, Fischbach and Schoder 2014)
Integrated Cost Leadership-Differentiation Strategy
The Integrated Cost Leadership-Differentiation Strategy is another business level strategy
that combines both the cost leadership and cost differentiation strategies to survive in the global
competition that has been increasing at present. While few companies follow the single generic
business level strategy, this kind of effective strategy has the ability to turn the organization
Webster Limited into better business unit that can position itself within the competitive global
business environment and adapt to changes quickly through learning of new skills technologies,
knowledge and expertise (Hanson et al. 2016). The leveraging of core competencies and skills
across the business units of Webster and product lines are further managed to put differentiable
features to the products and deliver better customer value at a much lower cost when compared