Page 37 - DCAP307_PLANNING_AND_MANAGING_IT_INFRASTRUCTURE

Unit 2: Strategic Planning

Business Unit Strategy Notes

It is a process driven and developed around fact gathering, valuing and defining. It is developed
with top down support and direction and bottom up input and analysis.
Depending on the scope and complexity of the business, the next step is to develop a strategic
statement or statements for multiple elements of the business. Those elements of the business
include the overall business, each operating division of the business and each key functional
area of the business. So there would be an overall company business strategic statement, a
division strategic statement, and functional strategic statements.

The functions might be manufacturing, marketing, logistics or supply chain, human resources
or other functions important to the success of the business. The levels of strategic statements
might look like the following:
Corporate strategic statement
Division strategic statements

Functional strategic statements
Each one of the strategic statements must be in agreement with the overall corporate or company
strategic statement and aligned with each other. The writing of an effective business unit strategic
statement focuses on creativity and differentiation rather than on process. It is developed and
written around the intuitive, differentiating elements of the business discovered in the first six
steps of the process. The business unit strategic statement must take into account both alignment
of the mission and vision statements with customer or consumer needs and differentiation
compared to the competitors’ strategic statement or position. The elements of uniqueness and of
value adding are important to the final product of the strategic statement.
Following is a strategic statement for an automotive distributor company:

Strategy Statement
To become the “first look” two step distributor in the Ohio/Indiana market, specifically for
high volume dealers and retailers. With product emphasis on brake and under hood products,
customer emphasis will be on specialty performance, franchised shops, body shops, general
repair shops, and automobile dealerships.

Transform the company into a value added link in the supply chain of automotive parts returning
a minimum of %5 ROA through:

Acquisition and disposition of locations
Conversion to two-step distribution
Value-add VMI solutions
Focused sales and marketing strategies
The strategic statement of the Business describes what, to whom and how the business product
or service is to be brought to the market. It is stated in broad, descriptive, general, non-tactical
terms. It focuses on differentiating the business from the competition. It aligns the Business with
its strengths and opportunities and with its customers and consumers needs. Importantly, the
strategic statement differentiates the business from the competition. A well-crafted strategic
statement will be brief but clear to the employees inside the company as well as externally to the
suppliers and customers of the business. It will provide a description that draws boundaries and
establishes clear direction to guide the managers of the business, as they make tactical and
executioner plans for the day-to-day activities of the business.

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