Rolls-Royce: Competing Within a Changing World - Admission/Application Essay Example

? Global Marketing Plan AFFILIATION: Executive Summary Rolls-Royce is an international provider of incorporated power systems and services to the national aerospace, protection aerospace, maritime and energy marketplaces. The consistent long term strategy of company has doubled the revenue and increased the profits by more than five years in the last decade. Furthermore, the order book of the company also provides the excellent vision of future growth of the company along with good opportunities in order to effectively meet the profits margin and cash flow conversion. Rolls-Royce global strategic marketing plan is a commitment of company in order to update its strategic planning for the next several years. The strategic planning for the next several years will fulfil the commitment of an organisation with its vision and strategy. Table of Contents Executive Summary ii Table of Contents iii Introduction 1 Discussion 2 SWOT Analysis of Rolls-Royce 2 Strengths 3 Weaknesses 4 Opportunities 5 Threats 5 Analysing the External Environment 6 Competitive Rivalry 6 Power of Buyers 7 Power of Suppliers 7 Threat of Entry 8 Threat of Substitutes 8 Business Portfolios 8 Civil Aerospace 9 Defence Aerospace 9 Marine 9 Energy 9 Success Factors of Rolls-Royce: A High Value Business 12 Principal Risks 14 Market Summary of Rolls-Royce 14 Marketing Needs, Wants and Demands 15 Market Trends and Growth 16 Rolls-Royce Brand 17 Customer Focused Business 17 Marketing Objectives: Future Opportunity 18 Financial Objective 19 Rolls-Royce Approach 19 Rolls-Royce Business Model 19 Economic impact 20 Conclusion 20 References 23 Appendices 26 Global Marketing Plan Introduction Rolls-Royce Group plc is a British multinational power systems manufacturing organisation, having headquarters in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is known as the world second largest maker of aircraft engines (behind General Electric), and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence related activities, it is the world's 18th largest defence contractor measured by 2010 defence revenues. It had an announced order book of ?62.2 billion at the end of the year 2011. Rolls-Royce is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index (Rolls-Royce plc, 2013). As of December 2011, it had a market capitalisation of ?13.58 billion, the 28th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange. Rolls-Royce has a status of being second largest company in the plane’s engine manufacturing sector. Company has achieved a landmark for providing 18,000 airplane engine products and services to 160 valuable customers across 103 countries with respect to the defence operations (Rolls-Royce plc, 2013). The objective of this global strategic marketing planning is to bring together the thinking of business involved in four global market sectors. Similarly, the developments and implementations of unique actions according to the long term planning will be monitored and controlled through the usual processes. For this reason, all the four major business sectors are responsible for performing their actions mutually according to the strategies in order to meet the objectives of the five year strategic planning (Rolls-Royce plc, 2013). Discussion In order to understand the importance of strategic planning for Rolls-Royce, there is a need to understand the business environment of a company and the best way for analysing it is the SWOT Analysis. The SWOT Analysis is useful tool for exploring new opportunities and it is also helpful in managing and minimising the threats. The SWOT Analysis is helpful in order to analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that a particular business is facing. The SWOT analysis depicts and evaluates the current positiona nd situation of the organisation and accordingly with further evaluation, the organisationcan plan their future decisions. Also, a proper SWOT Analysis provides company the knowledge of designing a sustainable niche marketing strategy for its market segments as well as for its business operations. For this reason, the SWOT Analysis is a primary tool for reading the analyses of the business environment for Rolls-Royce (Baines et.al, 2009). Business environment for various industries may differ, hence the orimary step is to conduct a thorough SWOT analysis. SWOT Analysis of Rolls-Royce Although, the Rolls-Royce has a strong market position which is responsible for increasing its brand image as well as enhancing its bargaining power. On the other hand, extensive competitions in all the four corporate sectors might reduce the market share of company. The market position needs to be maintained and strengthened on a constant note so that the organisation can attain its competitiveness and not lose out to the competition. After conducting the SWOT analysis, the business then plans upon the future strategic decisions to be taken. The SWOT Analysis of Rolls-Royce is as follows: Strengths Rolls-Royce brand has a strong market position in which it is serving because of its second largest company statuses among the engine manufacturing companies of planes. The civil aerospace business of the company is comprised of almost 30 types of commercial aircrafts with more than 13,000 engines in servicing along with 650 airlines, flight operators and corporate operators of magnitude of 4,000 (De Jong et.al, 2006, p. 58). Furthermore, the Rolls-Royce business of defence aerospace is considered as the second largest business that is responsible for providing airplane engine products and services up to 18,000 engines by serving 160 customers across 103 countries with respect to the defence operations. Also, the company is also holding a superior position with respect to the integrated technology business regarding the manufacturing of critical systems for offshore oil and gas in terms of merchant and naval vessels. It is operating almost 2,500 marine customers and has installed approximately 30,000 vessels across the world in which navies are accounted for 70. This strong portfolio provides a competitive advantage to the Rolls-Royce among its competitors and thus, is also responsible for increasing its bargaining power (Huckman et.al, 2009, p. 85). Rolls-Royce has a broad portfolio of variety of products from civil aerospace to automated generated systems along with a wide range of serving customers from all around the world. The company's largest business segment is civil aerospace business which generated 45.3% of the total revenue during the year 2010, followed by marine profit up to 23.8%, defence aerospace of 19.5% and energy up to 11.3%. This broad product portfolio is helping the firm to reduce its business risks and providing cross selling opportunities in new as well as existing markets. The company has strong research and development capabilities in terms of innovations in products, manufacturing technologies, and integrated operational practices. The engineering activities of a firm is comprised of 10,000 products and 40 major programs with global engineering existing centres in the United Kingdom, the US and Germany. This strong position in the engineering sector is allowing Rolls-Royce to incorporate technological leadership in most of its product segments which is ultimately leading strong sales of its product. Being strong in tehcnological grounds in this era is like achieving a big milestone for the firm as we are residing in a digital age and without technology things may be difficult to be conducted ((Huckman et.al, 2009). Furthermore, Rolls-Royce is operating in a diversified geographical basis which includes primary operational countries such as the US, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East and Africa and from the US 27.9% was the revenue among the total profit in the year 2010. This diversified geographic operation enables the firm to reduce its business risks. Organisations need to ensure that they take up calculated risks while conducting operations in the overseas market. Risk aversion is not compltely possible and it is not even wise to completely avoid it at times. Businesses need to take risks to gain success and hence the risk taken should be on calculated grounds. Weaknesses Lawsuits could be responsible for damaging the company's reputation. In the year 2011 the company paid almost $100 million for settlement to Qantas Airways due to defective superjumbo engines and there is a strong chance that the company might face the same claims in future as well. Such types of faults should be avoided by the firm and for this they need to have a strong quality control check so that all major and minor faults in the product can be detected before the final delivery of the product. Although the company has a potential for covering the costs of claims and lawsuits but such conditions may harm its good will. Good will needs to maintained by the firms as the good will helps the organisation in times of need and immediate fulfillmen of demands. Furthermore, the total values of assets held by Rolls-Royce’s pension scheme is declining which is resulting in increased expenses that generally may produce harmful effects on the company's financial positions (Datamonitor, 2011). If the financial stability of the firm gets affected due to any reason, then this becomes an alarming sign for the firm. Without finances, it is very difficult for the firm to make investments in future projects as well as to think on the lines of expansion. Opportunities Rolls-Royce has a robust order book which is responsible for increasing the product's demands and services in the targeted market segments of the company. This is also increasing the possibilities of sustaining profits for the firm as well as improving the market position. With the passage of time there has been an increase in the demand of commercial airplanes that can bring a strong position for Rolls-Royce and it will further increase its market top line growth. Similarly, increasing the demand of turbine helicopters may also contribute in terms of the company's growth and development (Kar, 2007, p. 369). If the products produced by Rolls Royce have a surging demand then this may increase its production and sales and many other airlines would opt for the services of Rolls Royce. Threats The company is competing with other companies in airplane engines business such as Honeywell International and Textron etc. Some of the firms have strong engineering and manufacturing skills. Rolls-Royce is operating in a highly competitive environment with fine market shares, on the other hand, increasing global operations can intensify the business of Rolls-Royce and thus, may reduce its market shares. Talented and skilled employees are always looking for better opportunities and if the competitive rivals offers a better package, the skill and talent then transfers to the rival firms. Hence it is important to retain the talented engineers in the firm for better production. Another threat for a firm is the currency risk as the firm is operating in countries that have different currencies. Furthermore, the weak future outlook of the US and European economies could bring pressure on the firm in terms of decreasing its revenues and growth prospects (Rolls Royce SWOT Analysis, 2012). Currency rate fluctuations take place on and off and this at times may impact the business operations profitability ratio. Analysing the External Environment For analysing the external environment of the business and the responding actions of the company against it can be better understood by Porter’s Five Forces Models. The model is helpful in analysing the business environment in relation to the business opportunities. Porter Five Forces model gives a holistic view of the rivalry amongst the different factors of the business such as from suppliers, competition, consumers and so on. This model is a very useful tool in analysisng the external imoact of the business. The model identifies the operations of Rolls-Royce as follows: Competitive Rivalry Competition in the primary market for aerospace engines has been greatly increased in the recent years. There have been many new firms operating in the airline business. This condition is intensifying the competitions among manufacturers for improving the sales volume and market share. Similarly, gas turbine engines are now considered as a mature product of technology and has reduced the differential advantage. With the advance of technology, majority of the firms are conducting fast and effective production and this is allowing new competition to emerge at a fast pace. Power of Buyers The potential buyers for aircrafts are low and thus, major price of aircrafts are supposed to be set by the buyers. When buyers are low for any particular product, then the organisation needs to set the price according to what the buyer will pay. On the other hand the numbers of buyers have increased in the recent years because of the global carrier image. Furthermore, the company should save the orders as different airlines are seeking life time cost guarantees as well as reduced repair cost options. On the other hand, if Rolls-Royce has failed in achieving the contract from an airline firm then it can be far away from its business with a particular airline for more than a decade. Therefore, Roll Royce need to handle this area in a careful manner so that it should bit lose out on the business. Power of Suppliers The suppliers in the aerospace engines have limited power and there are hundreds of them which are supplying the state of the art components to hundred and thousand of engines to other firms. The engine manufacturers on the other hand, are adopting dual sourcing for supplying issues. Therefore this reflects that there are many suppliers to choose from and Rool Royce can go for the one which has quality and is cost effective than the other suppliers. Threat of Entry Although it is not easy to enter in an aerospace business because of the extreme technological advancements, the innovative engineering methods along with high demanding research and development procedures. Research and Development is being taking place at a good pace and with time new studies are emerging. This allows businesses to rethink their business decisions and think twice before starting up any business which requires investements and high technical expertise. These elements do not easily allow the entry of new comers. The aerospace market is also sensitive towards reading the reputation issues and Rolls-Royce has proved its responsible image in this field. Threat of Substitutes However, there are no issues of substitutes in an aerospace business but research shows that the video conferencing may reduce the cost of business travel but this will take time when the demand of travel is going to increase. Through video conferencing, comnication has become easier, faster and cheaper for all businesses. Therefore, there is a need for Rolls-Royce in order to respond to the external business environment the firm should develop and shift its strategies from engineering to customer and business focused services (rolls-royce.com). Business Portfolios Rolls-Royce operates business in four different global marketing sectors which includes civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy. The company is establishing its tenth consecutive increase in profits which is a clear indication of consistent business operations through investing in people, technologies and other facilities. Civil Aerospace Rolls-Royce has the broadest manufacturing in the civil aerospace by providing engines from smallest helicopters to the giant such as Airbus A380 and powering more than 505 million commercial flights every year. Defence Aerospace Rolls-Royce is the second largest company that provides products and services regarding defence aerospace in more than 100 countries. It has good achievements in its production line on a worldwide basis. Marine Rolls-Royce is also a leading firm and has a wide range of products regarding marine markets in terms of vessel designs, integrated complex systems that are equipped with high-tech support and supply which are essential for offshore oil and gas merchants as well as for naval vessels. Energy The company energy business is effective in terms of supplying gas turbines, compressors, engines and other related services to the customers that support their efficient production of oil, gas and power from all around the world (Kujala et.al, 2009, p. 106). Civil Aerospace 2012 Revenue ?6,437m Defence 2012 Revenue ?2,417m 2012 Revenue by Segment Marine 2012 Revenue ?2,249m Energy 2012 Revenue ?962m 2012 Revenue by Geography Success Factors of Rolls-Royce: A High Value Business Rolls-Royce has been established as a high value business by providing developed technologies to global markets through producing products and services which are of high performance, giving high value services to its stakeholders, significantly investing capital in research and development, selecting people as employees which are highly skilled, competitively managing sustainable global supply chains, and contributing high economic values to the society. The company's success factor is its strategy which includes customers, innovation and growing profitability. The company gives excellent importance to its customers by understanding their requirements in order to shape products and services by focusing on a sharp responsive strategy (Rolls Royce, 2013).. Responding according to the needs and requirements of the customers allows customers to be retained and remain loyal to the firm. Rolls Royce also considers the society while conducting its business operations, such as the economic stability of the society and so on (Rolls Royce, 2013). Being a corporate social responsible organisation is important as this allows the customers to build upon a strong brand image in their minds and they may associate the firm with positivity. The company is connected to its customers via innovations by producing products for then at low prices in order to provide them technology, infrastructure and capability. The profit consideration involves high growth in terms of market share, expansion of competitive business portfolios and proper focusing on operational cost and cash flows (Rolls Royce, 2013). A Decade of Growth despite Significant Challenges Principal Risks The principal risks are associated with Rolls-Royce are as follows (Morelli, 2009, p. 90): 1. Product failure 2. Business continuity 3. Competitor action 4. International trade friction 5. Major product program delivery 6. Compliance 7. Market shock 8. IT vulnerability Market Summary of Rolls-Royce 2012 2011 % change Order book – firm and announced ?60,146m ?57,630m* +4% Underlying revenue* ?12,209m ?11,277m +8% Profit before financing ?2,072m ?1,189m +74% Underlying profit before tax* ?1,429m ?1,157m +24% Underlying earnings per ordinary share* 59.27p 48.54p +22% Payments to shareholders 19.5p 17.50p +11% *Restated 2011 year-end data excluding International Aero Engines (IAE) order book of ?4,571 million Marketing Needs, Wants and Demands The marketing needs of Rolls-Royce involve customers, suppliers and partners. Suppliers are making vital contributions for the company. Good suppliers are an added advantage for the firm as the suppliers may take into the consideration given by the firm on a regular basis. The firm is motivating its suppliers to work in collaboration and this is the major reason for the continuous improvement of the firm. Supplier collaboration allows the work operations to take place smoothly, suppliers may fulfill unexpected and immediate demands n times of need under good collaborations. With the help of suppliers the company is consistently moving towards meeting its objectives by means of a broad set of activities, extensive performance of research and development department, thorough product designs and manufacturing cost and sales (Rolls-Royce plc, 2013). Research as discussed earlier tends to work out many other business opportunities, and this is possible to carried furtehr by some organisations successfully. Market Trends and Growth Share Price Forecast Last Trade of Rolls-Royce Source: (markets.ft.com) Rolls-Royce Brand Rolls-Royce is one of the leading well known brands in the world and it is famous for its excellent engineering and technological excellence. The engineering part of Rolls Royce makes it difficult to copy the brand easily. The brand is committed to provide the excellence performance in a trusted manner. The brand promise includes three components which are trust, delivery and excellence. The firm ensures that it abides strictly by these three principles so that the aims and objectives of teh firm can be achieved in a successful manner. The DNA of the company is composed of innovation, customer focus by providing them the products and services which they need along with pursuance of quality, reliability and on time delivery (Kimita et.al, 2009, p. 74). Customer Focused Business Values: The firm is committed to deliver excellence in all aspects. It highly values its principles and success factors and works on a constant mode in mainataining its values and principles. Vision: The firm is committed for supplying better power in order to change the world. The vision of the company is to provide products and services with continuous innovation and improvement in operation in terms of science and technology along with deep understanding of customers needs by analysing all the available opportunities in the fast changing business conditions (Bullinger et.al, 2008, p. 87). Use of technology is a must by all firms and the technological use allows the firm to cater the engineering procedures well. Strategy: The objective of the company is to become world class with competitive advantage in relationships with customers by supplying them world class quality of products and services in terms of energy and technologies. It constantly strives to increase its marker share and customer base and also thrives to attain the number one position. For achieving such objectives the company is committed towards highly cost effective procedures, efficient and simple operations and a strong promise for operating functions always with great ethical responsibilities (Kerzner, 2009, p. 43). Marketing Objectives: Future Opportunity The company is aiming for achieving US$3 trillion over the next 20 years and the market size which are related to the growth are world gross domestic product growth, global security and defence budgets through its four global strategic operations which include civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy (Childe, 2007, p. 537). The future position and plans need to be decided by the management earlier as this decideds the startegies that that the firm would take to achieve the particular position. Financial Objective The financial objective of firm is to enhance operations through continuous improvements and increase investment in order to meet the future commitments. Investments can be attracted through attaining more shareholders for the firm. The investment will be done in the area of technology; operations and people because these investments can provide the firm a competitive advantage, support future commitments and enhance operational functions in implementing strategies effectively (Rolls-Royce Annual Report, 2013). Rolls-Royce Approach The firm is committed in order to fulfil the requirements of shareholders, workforce and customers through procedures that may help the culture and decrease the ecological impact. Rolls-Royce is the best location in order to offer facility support, continuing manufactured goods and strong designed preservation on behalf of the clients. Community investments include retention of employees, engagement by means of loyalty and motivation, development skills, and enhance reputation by means of communication in communities where the firm is serving (Alonso et.al, 2005, p. 40). Rolls-Royce Business Model Two-thirds of the yearly R&D financial support is meant for improving the ecological presentation of products and services. The firm exploits R&D investment through the strategy of ‘invest one time utilise several times’ in goods crosswise the four main divisions (Rolls-Royce, 2013). Economic impact Rolls-Royce has substantially defined the benefit pension plans in the UK, USA, Canada and Germany. With the exception of Canada these plans are closed to new entrants so new employees have defined the contribution pension arrangements. Defined contribution pension arrangements also operate in other locations (Brezet et.al, 2006, p. 97). Order book: ?62.2 billion. Underlying revenue: ?11,277 m Underlying profit before tax: ?1,157 m Underlying earnings per ordinary share: 48.54 Conclusion Rolls-Royce is an international provider of incorporated power systems and services to the national aerospace, protection aerospace, maritime and energy marketplaces. The consistent long term strategy of the company has doubled the revenue and increased the profits by more than five years in the last decade. Although, the Rolls-Royce has a strong market position that is responsible for increasing its brand image as well as enhancing its bargaining power. Rolls-Royce brand has a strong position market position in which it is serving because of its second largest company status among the engine manufacturing companies of planes. Furthermore, the Rolls-Royce business of defence aerospace is considered as the second largest business that is responsible for providing airplane engine products and services up to 18,000 engines by serving 160 customers across 103 countries with respect to the defence operations. Furthermore, the company is also holding a superior position with respect to the integrated technology business regarding the manufacturing of critical systems for offshore oil and gas in terms of merchant and naval vessels (Bentley, 2010, p. 34). Rolls-Royce operates business in four different global marketing sectors which includes civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy. The company is establishing its tenth consecutive increase in profits which is a clear indication of consistent business operations through investing in people, technologies and other facilities. The company success factor is its strategy which includes customers, innovation and growing profitability. The company gives excellent importance to its customers by understanding their requirements in order to shape products and services by focusing on a sharp responsive strategy. The company is connected to its customers via innovations by producing for them at low prices in order to provide them technology, infrastructure and capability. The organisations that value the needs and wants of the customers always have high chances for attaining a successful position in the business market. The profit consideration involves high growth in terms of market share, expansion of competitive business portfolios and proper focusing on operational cost and cash flows. The firm is committed in order to fulfil the requirements of shareholders, workforce and customers through procedures that may help the culture and decrease the ecological impact. Rolls-Royce has the best location in order to offer facility support, continuing manufactured goods and strong designed preservation on behalf of the clients (Chase, 2009, p. 706). References Alonso-Rasgado, T., Thompson, G. and Elfstrom, B. (2005), “The design of functional (total care) products”, Journal of Engineering Design, Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 515-40. Baines, T.S., Lightfoot, H.W., Benedettini, O. and Kay, J.M. (2009), “The servitization of manufacturing: a review of literature and reflection on future challenges”, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 547-67. Bentley, C. (2010), PRINCE2: A Practical Handbook, 3rd ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford University press, pp. 34-57. Brezet, J.C., Bijma, A.S., Ehrenfeld, J. and Silvester, S. (2006), The Design of Eco-efficient Services, Design for Sustainability Program, Delft University of Technology, pp. 97- 115. Bullinger, H., Fa?hnrich, K. and Meiren, T. (2008), “Service engineering – methodical development of new service products”, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 85 No. 3, pp. 275-87. Chase, R.B. (2009), “The customer contact approach to services: theoretical bases and practical extensions”, Operations Research, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 698-706. Childe, S.J. (2007), “Products, services and value”, Production Planning & Control, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 537. 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(2009), “Evaluation of customer satisfaction for PSS design”, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 654-73. Kujala, S., Artto, K., Aaltonen, P. and Turkulainen, V. (2009), “Business models in project-based firms – towards a typology of solution-specific business models”, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 96-106. Morelli, N. (2009), “Service as value co-production: reframing the service design process”, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 568-90. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc annual report 2012, Retrieved from, http://www.rolls-royce.com/Images/rolls_royce_annual_report_2012_tcm92-44211.pdf 'Rolls-Royce Holdings plc SWOT Analysis' 2012, Rolls Royce SWOT Analysis, pp. 1-9, Retrieved from, http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3ba676eb-7404-4ca9-badc-10c2290ed31e%40sessionmgr104&vid=2&hid=120 Rolls-Royce plc, 2013, Retrieved from, http://www.rolls-royce.com/about/ataglance/ Rolls-Royce, 2013, ‘Our business model and strategy’, Retrieved from, http://www.rolls-royce.com/reports/2011/business/our-bus-model.html Rolls-Royce: Competing within a changing world, Times 100, Retrieved from http://www.rolls-royce.com/Images/competition_tcm92-11184.pdf Appendices Civil Aerospace Defence aerospace Marine Energy Technology Operations Read More