Question

Answer the following Case Study Discussion Q
“Chris, we make the highest-quality grass seed and fer- tilizer in the world. Our brands are known everywhere!" stated Caroline Ebelhar, the vice president of manu- facturing for The Lawn Care Company. “Yeah! But the customer doesn't have a Ph.D. in organic chemistry to un- derstand the difference between our grass seed and fertil- izer compared to those of our competitors! We need to also be in the lawn-care applica- tion service business, and not just the manufacturer of super-perfect products,” responded Chris Kilbourne, the vice president of mar- keting, as he walked out of Caroline's office. This on- going debate among Lawn Care's senior management team had not been resolved, but the chief executive offi- cer, Mr. Steven Marion, had been listening very closely. Soon they would have to make a major strategic decision. The Lawn Care Company, a fertilizer and grass seed manufacturer with sales of almost $1 billion, sold some of its products directly to parks and golf courses. Customer service in this goods-producing company was historically very narrowly defined as providing “the right product to the right customer at the right time.” Once these goods were delivered to the customer's premises and the customer signed the shipping documents, Lawn Care's job was done. For many park and golf course customers, a local subcon- tractor or the customers themselves applied the fertilizer and seed. These application personnel often did the job incorrectly, using inappropriate equipment and methods. The relationship among these non-Lawn Care application ser- vice personnel, The Lawn Care Company, and the customer also was not always ideal. When claims were made against The Lawn Care Com- pany because of damaged lawns or polluted lakes and streams, the question then became one of who was at fault. Did the quality of the physical product or the way it was applied cause the damage? Either way, the customers' lawns or waterways were in poor shape, and in some cases the golf courses lost substantial revenue if a green or hole was severely damaged or not playable. One claim filed by a green advocacy group focused on a fish kill in a stream near a golf course. One of Lawn Care's competitors began an application service for parks and golf courses that routinely applied the fertilizer and grass seed for its primary customers. This

Answer 1

According to Chegg guidelines, post other questions again for the answer. Answering the first question and all its subparts

Q1.a) Lawn Care's current strategic mission is to deliver the highest quality products that included fertilizers and seeds to park and golf courses. Although they want this product to solve the problem of customers but the inefficient application is not letting that happen. They have narrowly defined as "the right product to the right customer at the right time".

b) Their strategy is to produce the best products for their segment that cannot be replicated by other competitors. Hence, giving them a competitive advantage of product differentiation and quality.

c) The company is known for its quality products and has sales of almost $1 billion, which shows that customers like the product quality. Their priorities are to produce good quality products and service or application is up to the customer.

d) Here value chain comprises products shipped to the customer's premises and customers signing the shipping documents. Their responsibility gets over, once the product is delivered. They believe in providing the best quality and then it is up to consumers how they would use it. From Porter's value chain we can see that Inbound logistics is well handled as products are of high quality, same goes for operation. In Outbound logistics, there role is till the receiving of product by the customer. Since the service is not appropriate or customer is not happy, it damages their further marketing and sales as well

Inbound Logistics Operations Outbound Logistics Marketing & Sales Services Profit

It wins customers because of its product that, as claimed, if of higher quality

e) Here the order qualifiers are in the targeted segment which is parks and golf courses, who consider fertilizer and seeds essential for their premises. Hence, it is a fit for purchase for the consumers

The company also delivers very good quality products that separate it from other competitors which makes it an order winner.