loewen group case study dissertation

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Executive Summary of Case

External Environment Analysis

Opportunities

Threat of recent entrants:

The barriers to entry happen to be high due to high set costs, deficiency of history from your community, zoning regulation, and not-in-my-back-yard protests.

Power of suppliers:

Funeral consolidators such as Loewen group can put quite a lot of pressure about suppliers to lower prices.

Power of buyers:

The funeral home is usually the buyers initially point of contact, therefore the funeral house has first chance by selling almost all related providers and items.

Product alternatives:

The small family run funeral homes cannot contend with the consolidators because the consolidators offer the consumer every choice available as the family owned homes cannot.

Depth of competition:

Although there were over 10, 000 privately owned funeral homes in Canada in 1996, Loewen group maintained their particular share of the market as a result of namesake. As well only 30 percent of family businesses make it to the 2nd generation, and only 10 percent towards the third.

Competitor basic analysis:

a. Future Targets:

b. Current Strategy:

c. Assumptions:

deb. Capabilities:

Economical:

Everybody dies, also because of this there always exists a market intended for funeral companies.

Socio-Cultural:

Being a consolidated funeral service home they will offer cheaper services for all those without a lot of income, however they can also provide the top-of the-line funeral service for those who want to cover it.

Global:

SCI has paved the way, and Loewen Group can follow their case in point to move into the global market without the R&D costs, and steal some of SCIs market share.

Scientific:

There are not many technological advantages for a company that relies on traditions.

Political/Legal:

They can be legally investing their money from the accrued pre-need revenues. The very fact that they are permitted to invest these types of revenues permits them to generate more money.

Market:

No matter where a single lives, the way they live, what income level they have got, or their particular heritage, everybody dies and presents likely revenue pertaining to Loewen Group.

Threats

Threat of new traders:

Not a great threat due to high obstacles of entry into the market.

Power of suppliers:

Because of the Internet, suppliers are now able to sell many online straight to the consumer virtually eliminating the funeral home from the bereavement process.

Benefits of buyers:

Purchasers are becoming far more educated in the costs of funeral homes and itemized expenses. For this reason funeral homes cannot mark-up their costs the way they accustomed to.

Product substitutes:

Today you will discover companies offering caskets that one may make by themselves. They can use the casket as a coffee stand until it needs to be used for their other purpose.

Intensity of rivalry:

The threat penalized bought out by SCI is very intense and the cost they were supplying shows how greatly that they wanted to combine Loewen Group into SCI.

Competitor standard analysis:

a. Future Objectives:

b. Current Strategy:

c. Assumptions:

d. Capabilities:

Economic:

Because of the raising education in the consumer, various may choose to sidestep the burial home as a method of decreasing costs.

Socio-Cultural:

Global:

The various cultures on the planet have different funeral and bereavement traditions. Although they are not open to outsiders coming in and offering these types of services or maybe other options of burial.

Technological:

If the option of freezing persons became inexpensive and customary, it would endanger the funeral service home business because the accessibility to that form of technology is very limited.

Political/Legal:

In the event that laws were passed in order to avoid burial due to environmental causes and cremation became how, then burial homes would loose a sizable part of their particular revenue.

Market:

Because people are living longer, as well as the population has become larger, there exists a need for even more land for these people to inhabit. Because of this will need land will end up scarce when you use cemeteries, and cremation can become the choice for most people.

Internal Environment Analysis

Strong points

Resources:

a. Tangible

1 ) Financial:

2 . Organizational:

A strength that Loewen Group had in this area is the fact that they can kept similar staff when the acquired another home. Cash because people are effective in working the company because area plus they already know what works.

a few. Physical:

A physical strength is they own plenty of funeral homes all over America.

some. Technological:

You will discover no scientific strengths.

b. Intangible

1 ) Human Resources:

A very important factor Mr. Loewen looked at every employee like a strong part of the company. This kind of led to Sharing The Eye-sight stock strategy.

installment payments on your Innovation Methods:

This durability is simiilar to their organizational strength in the fact that they keep the same personnel at each residence bought. Most companies keep the same staff however, not as part of management, more for human relationships.

3. Reputational Resources:

Loewen believed that their status as The preferred acquirer was a significant edge in bringing in high quality acquisitions.

some. Management:

One particular strength is that management is usually open to everyone that works beneath them. They may be very interested in helping funeral homes reach their goals.

Functions:

1 . Circulation:

There is no division.

2 . Marketing:

One of the main techniques Loewen Group got their name away was through community involvement.

3. THAT:

There is no IT

5. Manufacturing:

Loewen group delivers services therefore does not make anything.

Core Competencies:

The companys core operations contain the burial and cemetery activities of its working subsidiaries. The Companys functions also include insurance business supporting the support of the main operations.

Benefit Chain Analysis:

Loewen claimed it has one of the customer-focused strategies and a real concern intended for sellers needs. It labored on offering superb service and providing community involvement to improve the brand equity of the Loewen Group term.

Another thing that provided value to the consumer was that it absolutely was a one-stop shop. They will offered blend facilities that enabled consumers to take care of funeral service and cemetery arrangements in one place.

Competitive Advantage:

Loewen Group have to where it truly is today with several competitive advantages. The first of these types of is an acquisition group that is incredibly skilled and very dedicated to identifying and concluding the offer. The second edge was that the regional collaboration program had often accounted for more than fifty percent of their yearly purchases. The next benefit was that that built a reputation pertaining to doing its up most to satisfy the needs of sellers. The final competitive benefit is that Loewen was building its internal expertise in cemetery management.

Weaknesses

Methods:

c. Real:

1 . Financial:

The main financial weakness is that the company travelled bankrupt.

2 . Organizational:

One organizational weakness is the fact that that they you don’t have a homogeneous operating criteria for all homes.

3. Physical:

A physical some weakness is that they are certainly not located in the global market.

some. Technological:

The weakness the following is that they have simply no technology.

deb. Intangible

1 ) Human Resources:

2 . Innovation Methods:

A some weakness in this area is the fact their impressive strength is one that is easily imitated.

several. Reputational Assets:

One weakness is the fact that they did not use the Loewen Group name upon all of their obtained funeral homes.

some. Management:

Poor decision making by the management is exactly what caused the business to go under.

Capabilities:

1 ) Distribution:

simply no distribution

2 . Marketing:

This is similar to Reputational in the fact that they have to market every funeral house different since they have different names.

a few. IT:

not any IT

5. Manufacturing:

no Manufacturing

Main Competencies:

All of us mentioned which the core competency is customer service, This is a thing that can be conveniently copied.

Benefit Chain Research:

One thing that other companies including SCI did that helped lower their costs was the thought of clustering. This kind of gave all of them the opportunity to use personnel, facilities, and auto equipment for a few funeral homes. This slashes prices to get the company which often cuts costs for the client, offering better value.

Competitive Advantages:

A single competitive weakness that the business has is the fact that that they use the original suppliers of the funeral service homes they acquire.

Financial Research

Profitability Percentages:

Return on total assets:

Return about stockholder fairness:

Net earnings margin:

Liquidity Ratios:

Current Ratio:

Leveraging Ratios:

Debt-to-assets:

Debt-to-equity: