Strategy

Learning Team Reflection: Chase Strategy
Carla Brown, Christine Denson, Shacorra Hall, Danielle McGregor, Donnie Phillips
OPS 571
October 1, 2015
Dr. Deborah Jones

Learning Team Reflection: Chase Strategy
Chase Strategy: Introduction Learning Tea A will discuss the Chase strategy. The examination of two companies that may benefit from the utilization of the Chase strategy will take place. Challenges a company may face implementing the Chase strategy within their organization is researched. Advantages and disadvantages of the Chase strategy are identified.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally all companies depend on a form of demand generation strategy. The Chase strategy is best recognized when production meets demand from one period to the next. The strategy is most effective when demand is unpredictable and there is no inventory. According to "Chase Strategy Basics: A Lead Generation How-To" (2014), "The basic principle of the Chase Strategy is to identify the market you want to target with your marketing, and create a profile of potential buyers” (Chase Strategy Basics). Companies create a database of potential customers, and then take steps to get leads and turn leads to sales. The chase strategy concentrates selectively targeted accounts. The chase strategy is not for every business. As with all tactics, there are pros and cons with the Chase strategy. Some advantages when applying the Chase strategy are aggregating planning; inventory is allowed at its lowest level, which saves companies money; optimization of goals and lower costs. Some disadvantages of the Chase strategy include hire turnover rates; increased inventory costs; erratic use of factories and equipment. Prior to implementing the Chase strategy at a company, managers must determine the positive and negative effects it will have on the company.
Organization 1: Flowers Foods
The ideology of the chase strategy stems from the lines of production, and centered on consumer consumption or desire. Flowers Foods is a bakery designed to produce baked goods such as bread, rolls, buns and cakes. Each brand made at Flowers Foods is subsequent to the orders placed by the independent distributors. The independent distributors collect the data and place orders daily, as it relates to the store or point of service location. Each independent distributor maintains a handheld computer. Based on trends from previous sales cycles, the computer will suggest the amount to order. However, the distributor takes into consideration the holidays, time of the month and current sales.
Organization 2: Mongo the Mongolian Fire Pit (Mongo)
Following the chase strategy, locally owned Mongo has built a viable business. Mongo offers healthy alternatives for its targeted audience. Customers can customize their meal from the fresh vegetables, a variety of meat options, sauces, and rice offered. Once their selection is completed, their meal is cooked to order on a grill. Since the restaurant is not a franchised business, the owner must rely on previous sales trends and the availability of seasonal items. One other factor the owner must consider when purchasing or ordering food and supplies is the influx of non-targeted audience members. There are several pros and cons of using the chase strategy. A pro in the case of Mongo is that the owner supplies a product where the customers can select what they want. The con of this restaurant is that it may become costly if sales drop or inaccurate factors are used.
Challenges
The purpose of the Chase Strategy is to detect the market he or she wants to target. Once the market is identified, then the company can build a database of those who show an interest. The challenge associated with using the Chase Strategy with Mongo’s is the difficulty of implementation. Mongo’s will need a high-quality catalogue and data of the target audience. According to “Ngage Marketing Services” (2014), “From there, the company has to create excellent content through the right venues to reach members of the database” (Cons). If the information is not accurate, then the Chase Strategy becomes ineffective and costly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Learning Team A defined the differences of a Chase strategy. The learning team also discussed the challenges of a Chase strategy, and the advantages and disadvantages of the Chase strategies were identified. Learning Team A choose two companies, Flowers Foods and Mongo the Mongolian Fire pit that used Chase strategies, and discussed some of the challenges that were associated with using the Chase strategy.

References
Chase Strategy Basics: A Lead Generation How-To. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ngagemarketingservices.com/chase-strategy-basics-a-lead-generation-how-to/
Ngage Marketing Services. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ngagemarketingservices.com/chase-strategy-basics-a-lead-generation-how-to