Robert Meggie bought the Great Little Box Company (GLBC) in 1982 from a receiver - the box-manufacturing company had struggled since its creation in 1981. An accountant who had worked in the packaging industry, Meggie started with a 5,000 square feet plant in Burnaby and three employees: two machine operators and a sales representative. He himself did everything at the beginning from "taking orders to making sales calls to running one of the machines and shipping out the completed orders."

That first year was made more difficult by the tough economic recession. So Meggie approached one of his largest customers, a shipping-supplies firm, with a partnership offer - he would be responsible for administration and production and they would look after sales and marketing. They liked the idea and brought back a recently-laid-off salesperson to work with GLBC. The partnership never materialized but the connection between GLBC and the new sales rep was so successful that the rep decided to stay with GLBC. This sales rep was a revelation to Meggie. "He upped our business 80 percent overnight" and taught Meggie the value of a strong sales force.

After that first year, growth was steady. Within five years a sales manager was needed. Then sales and distribution offices were opened in Victoria (1992), Kelowna (1998), and Everett, Washington (1998). The head office and production facility went through several moves to larger quarters in the Vancouver area until the company finally built its own 250,000 square foot facility on Mitchell Island in Richmond, BC in 2006.

GLBC's main business is designing and manufacturing corrugated boxes and displays. The corrugated-packaging industry is dominated by a few large multinational companies. This means that GLBC cannot get the same economies of scale so competes on the basis of speed and customer service, turning orders around much faster. Striving to become a 'one-stop-shop' for customer packaging and shipping needs, GLBC has also expanded its services. It established a moving supplies division in 2004 and a label division in 2006 (through the acquisition of C. Davis Enterprises' assets).

The 2007 acquisition of Boxster led to the creation of the folding cartons and rigid boxes division. While the recent recession created difficulties for other manufacturers, it led to opportunities for Meggie and GLBC. Since 2009 GLBC has acquired more companies: Parrot Label (which has increased GLBC's label capabilities), Vanille Packaging (making GLBC the premier packaging provider on Vancouver Island), and Action Box Company (making GLBC the lead provider of protective packaging in BC). Despite the recession, GLBC's revenue has increased from $30 million in 2009 to $36 million in 2010 and is anticipated to reach $45 million to $50 million in 2011. In the effort to meet its' one-stop-shop goal, GLBC now manufactures boxes of all sizes, foam protective packaging, folding cartons, and labels, and distributes a full range of shipping and moving supplies.

Meggie's expansion of the business has been aggressive but careful and has involved his employees at each step of the way. At monthly meetings, GLBC shares its corporate and financial information with all employees. These meetings are also forums for employee input and for rewarding employees. "It's important to share the financials with everyone. It makes people feel more a part of the company...It instilled a sense of trust. Regardless of whether the news is good or bad, people want to know and, ultimately, will try harder to make the company more profitable." Daily production meetings and weekly departmental meetings provide a steady flow of information with opportunities for employees to ask questions and give input. Meggie meets with everyone in the company twice a year, in small groups of 10 to 12. There he provides a 'state-of-the-nation' report, discusses issues like quality or production, and then opens up the meeting for questions and feedback. Strategic planning meetings held every two months invite employees representing each department to review the plan, measure progress, share ideas, and make adjustments. An idea recognition program gives monetary rewards to employees who submit ideas to improve the work process or resolve a problem. GLBC supports teamwork through its profit-sharing plan, paying out 15 percent of its profit monthly, with all eligible employees receiving the same amount regardless of their position or wage rate, whether it is a truck driver or plant supervisor.

GLBC now has over 200 employees. Most of its clients are in British Columbia (BC) and there is a lot of potential growth in the state of Washington. There are no plans to expand beyond this western region. GLBC has been on Maclean's Top 100 employers list for eight years and is named as one of Canada's 50 best-managed companies annually since 1995.

Question: Apply the concepts of differentiation and integration to this case.