Introduction
Cemex and Managed by Q are companies that have been in operation for some time and have been doing well in terms of revenue generation. The firms employ many people and remain some of the highly successful companies. Products and services offered by these two companies are reliable and meet the demands of their customers in areas where they operate. Generally, the success of a given company is based on several factors, including the strategic plan. Thus, this paper examines CEMEX and Managed by Q by giving the summary of the two companies, similarities, and differences in strategic approaches, as well as a reflection on what can be learned from the two companies.
Summary of Managed by Q
The company started its operation in 2013 with the main aim of providing its customers with clean floor and windows as well as managing the physical space of its customers. It started its operation in New York and expanded to San Francisco and Chicago and has been achieving high customer satisfaction in these three markets. Managed Q is an office cleaning companies that also provide maintenance and office supply services. The focus of the company is cleaning services in offices, conference rooms, kitchens, and workstations. The company offers a range of maintenance services from the assembly of furniture to electrical works and carpentry-related services. Each service offered by the company is charged per hour, and the charges vary by the service (Ton & Reavis, 2016). The duration for services is between 1 to 2 hours. It also deals with supply services with a number of products such printer cartridges and towels being the major focus.
Summary of Cemex
Cemex is one of the largest building material company with its headquarter in Mexico. The company was established in 1920 and has undergone gradual expansion and currently has presences in over 50 countries. The company is known for the provision of high-quality products and reliable services to all its customers globally. The corporation is considered a global industry leader with its annual sales of approximately $14.98 billion. Furthermore, it hosts 44,000 employees located in different parts of the world and is known for the supply of ready-mix concrete and cement manufacturing (Lessard & Reavis, 2009). The firm’s approach is based on creativity, flexibility, innovation, sustainability, and efficiency. The company went public in 1976 but became a household name in the global context in 1992 achieving significant growth mainly through acquisition. Bagging, branding, and distribution of the company’s products are all undertaken near site of use because of their bulkiness and the reduction in cost.
Similarities in Strategic Approaches
Both companies adopted certain approaches that can be said to be similar. For instance, both companies adopted an approach of product and services customization. For, instance, Cemex, to address the needs of customers in regard to bag cement in the 1990s, came up with a branded cement strategy (Lessard & Reavis, 2009). Similarly, Managed Q customized its services, for instance, by introducing an iPad with a customized dashboard which listed the tasks requested by the customers (Ton & Reavis, 2016).
Another similarity in their strategy is in talent development. Both companies invest in training of their employees to make them competent and productive. Cemex, for instance, has relied on learning to effectively transfer best practices and maintain standardization procedures. This strategy has been effective in the innovation of building materials that meet the demand of a specific market segment (Robinson, 2014). Similarly, Managed Q has invested in the training of its employees in its office on their various services such as cleaning and how to use the Q dashboard on the iPad (Ton & Reavis, 2016). The company has been doing this enhance the efficiency and competency of its employees.
Differences in Strategic Approaches
Whereas there are certain areas in which the strategic approaches of these two companies are similar, there are other areas where they differ in terms of strategy. For instance, Cemex adopted the strategy of acquisition where it acquired some of the companies that were actively competing it. For instance, in 2007, Cemex acquired control of the Rinker Corporation. Back in 2005, the company acquired RMC a UK-based company which significantly changed its business landscape (Ton & Reavis, 2016). Managed Q, on the other hand, focused on product and service differentiation to compete fairly in the market. Another strategy used by Cemex that made it achieve a milestone in its business operation was outsourcing. For instance, it was expected that the outsourcing agreement between the company and IBM was to contribute to savings of about $ 1billion in more than ten years. Unfortunately, Managed Q never applied this strategy.
Assessment and Reflection
From the analysis of these companies, I have come to realize that different strategic approaches can be used by a company to gain a competitive advantage and increase profit margin. I have come to learn that strategic methods such as acquisition, product differentiation, training, and strategic outsourcing are all critical for the performance of an organization. These strategies can be applied differently but bring the same result.
References
Lessard, D.& Reavis, C. (2009). CEMEX: Globalization the CEMEX way. MIT Sloan Management.
Robinson, S., (2014). CEMEX: An In-Depth Situational Analysis and Strategic Plan. Kogod School of Business. Honors Capstone Project.
Ton, Z., & Reavis, C., (2016). Managed by Q. MIT Sloan School. Retrieved from https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/operations-management/managedbyq/Pages/Managed-by-Q.aspx