Hartmann group: Business models, relationship with customers

Résumé du document

1.Interpretation of the question
From the question set, the management of Hartmann wants to evaluate the company´s ability to implement the new strategy “competitive edge-driving growth” launched in 2011. This should be attained through relevant theories and models with focus on Hartmann´s customer relationship.

2.Introduction of the company
Hartmann was founded almost 100 years ago and developed to a company for producing egg packages. They deal in the B2B European and North American market. Being part of the eco-friendly egg-packaging industry places them in a monopolistic competition with several major and many small players.

3.Scope
In this project we will focus primarily on Europe, since Hartmann is a market leader there and most of the production and sales take place on that market. However, for further implementation of the strategy the company has to differentiate the approach to the other markets. We will concentrate on the main activity of the company -Egg packaging and Egg Marketing and leave behind the others as they do not affect significantly our research.

Extraits

[...] It means that the main focus of Hartmann is to meet customer expectations. It is also possible to be followed by adding value to their product. What are the core needs Hartmann is trying to address? customized design in-house design team cost effective solutions ready to use: no assembly or folding suitable for automatic packing lines easy de-nesting clean to use at packaging line easy disposal low packaging tax low environmental impact[12] Egg producers and food retailers can benefit from Hartmann's sustainability and marketing strategy. Hartmann have defined customer's needs broadly enough. [...]

[...] Thus this relationship is maintained bilateral. The reason is that Hartmann is offering product and services that create a win-win situation and it is also in the customers' interest to keep a close collaboration in order to succeed on the market. Currently, Hartmann and most of their customers has built a long-term relationship.[21] Moving forward, looking from loyalty point of view, in order to see whether their customers are loyal we will briefly use the Framework for Customer Loyalty. As mentioned above Hartmann has managed to position their sales offices and production facilities to have larger reach to the customers. [...]

[...] Hartmann´s Business model We will now continue with the bridges that play an important role for the business model- showing the correlation between the components and any existing gaps Customer benefits First of all, “Customer benefits” is the link between customer interface and core strategy. The purpose of this is to look at the benefits that Hartmann offers to their customers. It is also very closely connected with CVP (customer value proposition), where the main idea is to create a clear value for customers. [...]

[...] The company should continue fulfilling the specific needs of the customers and strengthen the relationship with them. Therefore, Hartmann should emphasize on their CVP and communicate it clearly to the customers. Moreover, in order to avoid risks in delivery and manufacturing, they should also consider acquisition of a supplier. Bibliography - Egan: Relationship Marketing, Exploring relational strategies in marketing 4th ed. John Egan Prentice Hall ISBN: 978-0-273-73778-0 - Business to business market segmentation by Per Vagn Freytag & Ann Højbjerg Clarke Industrial Marketing Management, Volume 30, Issue August 2001, Pages 473- 486 - Reinventing your business model by Mark W. [...]

[...] This safe environment drives the customer support up which also affects the collaboration with the retail chains and customers in a positive way. Moreover, the technology used by Hartmann and the flexible customized products and marketing services offered differentiate them as a choice to the customers and create a direct and even closer relationship with them. However, with the already established core competences Hartmann has not managed to gain a partnership with any of their clients. This is a gap that should be considered to be overcome in order to ensure full collaboration with the customers. [...]