VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies

Posted by Zachary Edwards on Mar-22-2018

The VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies will look at each of its internal resources one by one to assess whether these provide sustained competitive advantage. The Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis also mentions at each stage whether these resources could be improved to provide a greater competitive advantage. Lastly, the resources analysed are summarised as to whether they offer sustained competitive advantage, has an unused competitive advantage, temporary competitive advantage, competitive parity or competitive disadvantage.

Valuable

• The Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis shows that the financial resources of Saskatoon Country Supplies are highly valuable as these help in investing into external opportunities that arise. These also help Saskatoon Country Supplies in combating external threats.
• According to the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies, its local food products are a valuable resource as these are highly differentiated. This makes the perceived value for these by customers high. These are also valued more than the competition by customers due to the differentiation in these products.
• The Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis shows that Saskatoon Country Supplies's employees are a valuable resource to the firm. A significant portion of the workforce is highly trained, and this leads to more productive output for the organisation. The employees are also loyal, and retention levels for the organisation are high. All of this translates into greater value for the end consumers of Saskatoon Country Supplies's products.
• According to the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies, its patents are a valuable resource as these allow the firm to sell its products without competitive interference. This results in greater revenue for Saskatoon Country Supplies. These patents also provide Saskatoon Country Supplies with licensing revenue when it licenses these patents out to other manufacturers.
• The Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis shows that Saskatoon Country Supplies’s distribution network is a valuable resource. This helps it in reaching out to more and more customers. This ensures greater revenues for Saskatoon Country Supplies. It also ensures that promotion activities translate into sales as the products are easily available.
• According to the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies, its cost structure is not a valuable resource. This is because the methods of production lead to greater costs than that of competition, which affects the overall profits of the firm. Therefore, its cost structure is a competitive disadvantage that needs to be worked on.
• The Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis shows that the research and development at Saskatoon Country Supplies is not a valuable resource. This is because research and development are costing more than the benefits it provides in the form of innovation. There have been very few innovative features and breakthrough products in the past few years. Therefore, research and development are a competitive disadvantage for Saskatoon Country Supplies. It is recommended that the research and development teams are improved, and costs are cut for these.

Rare

• The financial resources of Saskatoon Country Supplies are found to be rare according to the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies. Strong financial resources are only possessed by a few companies in the industry.
• The local food products are found to be not rare as identified by Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis. These are easily provided in the market by other competitors. This means that competitors can use these resources in the same way as Saskatoon Country Supplies and inhibit competitive advantage. This means that the local food products result in competitive parity for Saskatoon Country Supplies. As this resource is valuable, Saskatoon Country Supplies can still make use of this resource.
• The employees of Saskatoon Country Supplies are a rare resource as identified by the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies. These employees are highly trained and skilled, which is not the case with employees in other firms. The better compensation and work environment ensure that these employees do not leave for other firms.
• The patents of Saskatoon Country Supplies are a rare resource as identified by the Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis. These patents are not easily available and are not possessed by competitors. This allows Saskatoon Country Supplies to use them without interference from the competition.
• The distribution network of Saskatoon Country Supplies is a rare resource as identified by the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies. This is because competitors would require a lot of investment and time to come up with a better distribution network than that of Saskatoon Country Supplies. These are also possessed by very few firms in the industry.

Imitable

• The financial resources of Saskatoon Country Supplies are costly to imitate as identified by the Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis. These resources have been acquired by the company through prolonged profits over the years. New entrants and competitors would require similar profits for a long period of time to accumulate these amounts of financial resources.
• The local food products are not that costly to imitate as identified by the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies. These can be acquired by competitors as well if they invest a significant amount in research and development. These also do not require years long experience. Therefore, the local food products by Saskatoon Country Supplies provide it with a temporary competitive advantage that competitors can too acquire in the long run.
• The employees of Saskatoon Country Supplies are also not costly to imitate as identified by the Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis. This is because other firms can also train their employees to improve their skills. These companies can also hire employees from Saskatoon Country Supplies by offering better compensation packages, work environment, benefits, growth opportunities etc. This makes the employees of Saskatoon Country Supplies a resource that provides a temporary competitive advantage. Competition can acquire these in the future.
• The patents of Saskatoon Country Supplies are very difficult to imitate as identified by the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies. This is because it is not legally allowed to imitate a patented product. Similar resources to be developed and getting a patent for them is also a costly process.
• The distribution network of Saskatoon Country Supplies is also very costly to imitate by competition as identified by the Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis. This has been developed over the years gradually by Saskatoon Country Supplies. Competitors would have to invest a significant amount if they are to imitate a similar distribution system.

Organisation

• The financial resources of Saskatoon Country Supplies are organised to capture value as identified by the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies. These resources are used strategically to invest in the right places; making use of opportunities and combatting threats. Therefore, these resources prove to be a source of sustained competitive advantage for Saskatoon Country Supplies.
• The Patents of Saskatoon Country Supplies are not well organised as identified by the Saskatoon Country Supplies VRIO Analysis. This means that the organisation is not using these patents to their full potential. An unused competitive advantage exists that can be changed into a sustainable competitive advantage if Saskatoon Country Supplies starts selling patented products before the patents expire.
• The distribution network of Saskatoon Country Supplies is organised as identified by the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies. Saskatoon Country Supplies uses this network to reach out to its customers by ensuring that products are available on all of its outlets. Therefore, these resources prove to be a source of sustained competitive advantage for Saskatoon Country Supplies.

From the VRIO Analysis of Saskatoon Country Supplies, it was identified that the financial resources and distribution network provide a sustained competitive advantage. The patents are a source of unused competitive advantage. There exists a temporary competitive advantage for employees. There exists a competitive parity for local food products. Lastly, the cost structure of Saskatoon Country Supplies is a competitive disadvantage. Research and Development is also a competitive disadvantage.