Question 2: Your recommendations to the company based on the above analysis: Needs to implement technology in a way that helps organize customer storage. Larger warehouse

I need help answering question 2

Electricity is one of the many things society can not live without, and for a good reason. Electricity is what powers entire cities, what allows businesses to function every day, and what powers homes all across the world. Without electricity, the world would not be even close to what it is now. Because of this, there are electrical companies everywhere, who provide service when electrical problems arise and install electrical in new buildings being constructed. These electrical companies provide necessary services to our community, and essentially, keep us up and running. That being said, in order for the electricians to do all this work, parts and equipment are required. This is where CED Fresno comes in. Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED) is a corporation that distributes electrical components all across the US, however, each branch is signicantly different from the others and does not share the same customers nor prots as other branches. CED Fresno provides its services to local customers all across Fresno, Clovis, and the Madera area, making it relatively small, but it provides special services that many other CEDs do not and because of this it attracts customers quite easily. Question 1.1: The uniqueness of its business model: customer storage, wire cutting/spoong service, Onsite deliveries/same day deliveries, 593.. . The rst of the four main pillars of strategy, according to Michael Porter, is a unique business model. Consolidated Electrical Distributors being a national company gives CED Fresno the benet of nationwide resources. The value added through product differentiation sets this company apart from the rest. They only use top electrical manufacturers whose focus remains on innovation in the ever evolving industry. In addition to their high tier products, their list of services is what the company prides itself on. They offer same day delivery to their niche market of the surrounding Fresno area. They also give their customers the opportunity to store job materials on location. Their quick delivery system applies here too. If a business is within a 50 mile radius from the storage location, CED Fresno will make deliveries as needed. From there, sites that are within a 50-200 mile radius will receive deliveries twice a week, and farther than 200 miles one a week. They provide custom wire cutting and spooling, allowing customers to get exactly what they need through a diverse selection of products. With their job storage service, they offer a safe, secure location to store job materials. Meaning, CED Fresno essentially orders products for their customers prior to when their j obs have started, due to pricing inux and wait time for the products to arrive at their facility. They then hold on to those products for the customer's specific jobs in the company's warehouse until they are ready to be put into use, that's when the product is then released to the customer. These are services that few similar companies in the industry have to offer. Although they differentiate themselves and attract customers that way, they still offer competitive pricing, using eicz'ent and coste'ective methods of production. Despite all of these unique attributes to their business model, they still hold on to the importance of customer service, which according to the CED Fresno website, is their \"highest priority.\" Maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction through meeting expectations and fostering relationships with customers increases brand loyalty. This requires staff across the company to be on the same page in regard to customer experience. Their inside sales staff is well trained in this area and are prepared to give quick quotations and readily answer any questions regarding over the counter needs. Question 1.2: Fit of its activities: (Not sure exactly what this is asking, but here is a guess) CED Fresno knows how to grow its customer base and has a great sales team who has good relationships with their customers, but the size of the warehouse limits them on their full potential. Also, not too technologically advanced. In order to maintain simple consistency, attention to the t of activities performed in the company must be its cornerstone. CED Fresno's t of activities are spelled out in the name: Consolidated Electrical Distributors. Their main product categories include: Boxes & Enclosures; Conduits, Ducts, & Raceways; Connectors, Crimps, & Termination; Control & Automation; Data, Video, & Audio; Fasteners; Fittings; Heat, Fans, Ventilation, HVAC, & Refrigeration; Lamps, Bulbs, & Ballasts; Lighting & Lighting Controls; Power Distribution; Signaling & Security; Tools, Testing, & Meters; Utility; Wire, Cables, & Cords; and Wiring Devices. Although this list is long and seems to be made up of an array of different options, they all fall under the umbrella of electrical distribution. CED Fresno being a part of the electrical industry keeps their products and services consistent within that. The services the company provides build off the products they sell. They offer assessment plans, storage, product customization, and their personal expertise to assist any customers. With success comes trade-offs, and with trade-offs comes risk. CED Fresno has many similar features to other CEDs, but it also has several unique features that separate them from the others as well. CED Fresno has a large inventory of stock items available at all times for customers. Galvanized conduit, concrete Christy boxes, and electrical panels are just a few of the unique items that are offered there and are not always offered at other branches. Because of the limited space, CED Fresno was forced to make a big trade-off by choosing not to sell any solar-related products. Instead, they focus more on commercial jobs (commercial-use buildings) and residential jobs (Home builds). This trade-off is signicant considering solar panels carry a large price tag, making the prot potential extremely high. CED Fresno works through that by offering parts and tools that all kinds of electricians can use. In a business revolving around sales to make their prot, CED Fresno also nds itself having to make tradeoffs when it comes to which customers have priority over certain products. According to an inside sales representative for the company \"Black Diamond (customer) is one of our largest accounts for residential panels, so when more panels come in, they are the rst company we call.\" These house electrical panels he is speaking of are in high demand across the country, making it very difcult to get them because of the low availability, meaning residential companies are searching everywhere trying to get their hands on some. Black Diamond being one of their largest residential customers who order large quantities of product at a time, trump their other smaller companies who are also looking for those panels. This trade-off can risk other companies going somewhere else to purchase their electrical panels which could possibly result in a loss of prot, however, for CED Fresno it is more important to keep a loyal customer like Black Diamond happy. Of course, other residential customers who need these electrical panels still have the option of ordering them ahead of time, but as for the panels CED keeps in stock, those are rarely available for them to purchase. CED Fresno has one nal major trade-off they opt into with the implementation of job storage. Job storage is a risk because jobs could fall apart, companies could go under, and the product could possibly sit in their warehouse for years at a time, often forgotten about. Taking this into account, job storage still provides a signicant opportunity for growth for CED Fresno. Many electrical companies need to order specic lighting packages or power packages that meet the requirements of their building plans, and each of these packages will require a longer lead time for the manufacturers to be able to produce them accordingly. This means orders need to be put in months in advance in order for the customers to have their material on time. However, in some cases orders are put in earlier than needed because of the price inux, so ordering material at a specic time may be cheaper for the electrical company rather than waiting a couple more months and ordering it then. This means that the material being received early will have to sit in CED's warehouse for an extended amount of time taking up valuable space. Another inconvenience with job storage that CED Fresno deals with but benets the customers is releasing portions of orders at a time. For example, a job may consist of 3 buildings, so the material is ordered for all 3 buildings and is held in the warehouse. The customer becomes ready for the material, but only wants the lighting for building 1 and nothing else. This means building 1's lighting needs to be separated from all other material, and sent out While everything else is put back into storage. This can be a slow process and can potentially cause a loss of time and money, but it is well worth it because the longer the job storage sits in their warehouse, CED is making more and more prot. These tradeoffs are just a few things CED Fresno does to try and maximize its prots while still keeping its customers happy. Question 1.4: There IS no question that Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED) Dunn\"... a..1'n"n A A1 "\"14\Question 1.4: There is no question that Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED) Fresno enjoys a signicant advantage in the market in comparison to both its current and potential future competitors. This is due to the fact that they have established relationships with some of the best electrical manufacturers in the industry, which enables them to provide their customers with products of a high quality. In addition, they offer a wide variety of products and services that are tailored to the requirements of their clients. They also have an experienced team of technicians and customer service representatives, a comprehensive website that allows clients to place orders for materials online, and a eet of delivery trucks that are outtted with GPS systems to ensure that deliveries are made in a timely and effective manner. CED Fresno is a reliable and competitive business that serves customers in the Fresno area as a result of the combination of all of these factors