An organization that desires to excel in the competitive business environment of the 21st century must come up with a sound strategy. In equal measure, such an organization must align its operations strategy with the needs and requirements of its customers to maintain a competitive advantage over its competitors. Simply put, a strategy is a wide-ranging long-term plan that has been specifically envisaged in order to achieve some set business objectives. Any organization desiring to achieve success must come up with competitive strategies aimed at enhancing the sales of its products and services. Timbuk2 is no exception. The organization has designed some competitive dimensions to drive sales for its custom and messenger bags manufactured in its plant in San Francisco.
Some of the competitive priorities utilized by the organization to drive sales include developing high-quality products for its customers, fast onward delivery of the products, utilizing the internet to market its products, and ensuring product value by producing the products based on customer specifications. The facility based in San Francisco has been fine-tuned to enhance the efficient production of the bags. According to Waller, fine-tuning production techniques not only ensures the efficient production of goods but also ensures quality and reliability. The distinct features the company avails to its customers in terms of configuration, color, dimension, and strap options add value to the products, not to mention the fact that they reveal the company’s sense of innovation to the customers. Such priorities serve to enhance customer satisfaction level, an important ingredient in the company’s pursuit of a larger market share for its customers as well as classic messenger bags. The company’s strategy of taking orders over the internet and sending the finished products directly to the customer significantly reduces product cycle times and improves processes. The above competitive dimensions serve to drive sales for the products associated with the company.
In a sense, the above competitive dimensions are different for the organization’s new laptop bags, directly sourced from China. Although Timbuk2 claims to use stringent measures in its quest to maintain quality, value, and rational prices for its products sourced from China, the customers are not satisfied. The concerns raised by the longstanding customers about the laptop bags may deter the company from realizing suitable profits not because the bags are of low quality but rather because of the customers’ perceptions about China. In supply chain management, the public image of an organization or a country is fundamentally important in ensuring the success of any venture. For Timbuk2 to be able to sway its customers with the objective of driving sales for its products sourced from China, it must engage in a customer sensitization strategy to assure the customers about its links in China, especially in public image and quality assurance. When this is done, the company will be able to realize more profits from its dealings with the Chinese company due to other factors such as cost control and on-time deliveries.