Chris, we make the highest quality grass seed and fertilizer in the world. Our brands are known everywhere!" declared Caroline Ebelhar, vice president of manufacturing for The Lawn Care Company. "Yes! But the customer doesn't have a PhD in organic chemistry to understand the difference between our grass seed and fertilizer in compared to our competitors! We also need to be in the business of lawn care application services, and not just be makers of super-perfect products,” responded Chris Kilbourne, vice president of sea, vice president of sea, vice president of marketing, as he left Caroline's of ice.This ongoing discussion among Lawn Care's senior management team had not been resolved, but the CEO, Mr. Steven Marion, had been listening very carefully. They would soon have to make an important strategic decision. .The Lawn Care Company, a nearly billion-dollar manufacturer of fertilizers and lawn seeds, sold some of its products directly to parks and golf courses. Historically, customer service at this goods-producing company was narrowly denied for providing "the right product." the right customer at the right time. Once these goods were "delivered to the customer's facility and the customer signed the shipping documents, Lawn Care's job was done. For many park and golf course customers, a local subcontractor or the customers themselves applied the fertilizer and the seed. These application personnel often did the job incorrectly, using the wrong equipment and methods. The relationship between these non-App Lawn Care service personnel, The Lawn Care Company, and the customer was also not always ideal. When claims were filed against The Lawn Care Company because of damaged lawns or polluted lakes and streams, the question then became who was at fault. Did the quality of the physical product or the way it was applied cause the damage? Either way, customers' turf or waterways were in poor condition, and in some cases golf courses lost substantial revenue if a green or hole was severely damaged or unplayable. A claim led by an environmental advocacy group centered on a dead fish in a stream near a golf course. One of Lawn Care's competitors started an application service for parks and golf courses that routinely applied fertilizer and grass seed for its primary customers. "the competitor bundled the application service to the primary products, fertilizers and grass seeds, and charged a higher price for this service. The competitor delivered and applied the fertilizer the same day to avoid the liability of storing toxic fertilizer outside in the golf course or parks. The competitor learned the applications business in the parks and golf courses target market segment and was beginning to explore expansion into the residential lawn care application services target market. The Lawn Care Company sold the "highest quality physical products" in the industry, but was currently not in the professional golf course and park lawn care market segments or the residential "car service" market segments. application". The Lawn Care Company considered that its value chain would end once it delivered its products to the non-Lawn Care workplace or application service. The competitor sold the customer "a beautiful lawn with the promise of no problems." 

A. Identify and discuss at least two specific operational capabilities that Lawn Care needs to develop to execute the new strategy.

B. "Going Green" would be an approach for Lawn Care to further differentiate itself from the competition. Develop at least one specific idea of how Lawn Care could integrate "Green" into your business.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

A Operational Capabilities for Lawn Cares New Strategy Application Expertise and Training Services Lawn Care needs to develop the capability of provid... View the full answer