United Parcel Service Marketing

The current business environment is characterized by a considerable level of competitive rivalry and as a result businesses have to constantly reengineer their internal operations in to build and maintain a competitive advantage . According to Michael Porter 's framework for strategy formulation , a business organization has three strategies at its disposal : differentiation , cost minimization and focus . All three strategies are implemented at United Parcel Service However the problem with implementing these strategies is that they cannot lead to the development of a sustainable competitive advantage This is a critical consideration in

the context of the industry in which the company operates . Another threat for the company is that during economically hard times , this industry is one of those hardest hit Therefore it is a critical consideration for the company to maintain a flexible organizational structure . The flexible structure enables the company to adapt its strategies to the changing external environment and thus maintain a competitive advantage

The company 's operations are spread throughout 200 countries . As a result the competitive rivalry that it faces is intense . In this respect , the management of the company attempts to implement the global market segmentation process . This process enables the management to minimize the marketing expenses . The challenge in conducting international marketing is that segmentation characteristics vary to a considerable extent across national boundaries . This forces the management to make compromises between standardization and customization . The greater the extent of standardization that the management can implement , the more cost effective it is . The...