Corrugated Box Industry

CASE STUDY EDMUNDS CORRUGATED part AND SERVICES. Larry Edmunds grimaced as he tossed his communitys latest quarterly earnings onto his desk. When Virginia- base Edmunds Corrugated Parts & returns Companys sales surged past the $10 million mark a while back, he was certain the company was well positi cardinald for steady result. Today, the company, which provided preciseness machine parts and return to the domestic fold up box industry, still enjoys a dominant marketplace share and is showing clams, although not quite the profit seen in historic period past.However, it is no longer practicable to ignore the fact that revenues were beginning to show everywheret signs of stagnation. More than two decades ago, Larrys grandfather loaned him the capital to start the business and then handed over the barn on what has been the familys Shenandoah Valley turn to serve as his first factory. Today, he operates from a 50,000 square-foot factory located near I-81 just a few miles fr om that old barn. The business allowed him to realize what had at a time seemed an almost impossible goal He was making a good living without having to leave his closely knit extended family and rural roots.He also felt a sense of satisfaction at employing about century people, many of them neighbors. They were among the most hard-working, loyal workers youd identify anywhere. However, many of his original employees were now nearing retirement. Replacing those ball-hawking workers was going to be difficult, he realized from experience. The studys brightest and best young people were a great deal more likely to move away in search of employment than their parents had been. Those who remained behind just didnt seem to have the work ethic Larry had fill in to expect in his employees.He didnt feel pressured by the emergence of any new direct competitors. later on slipping slightly a couple years ago, Edmundss formidable market share based on its reputation for reliability and e xceptional, personalized service was holding steady at 75 percent. He did feel plagued, however, by higher raw corporeal costs resulting from the steep increase in stain prices. But the main source of concern originate in from changes in the box industry itself. The industry had neer been particularly recession resistant, with demand fluctuating with manufacturing output.Now election shipping products were beginning to make their appearance, mostly conciliative plastic films and reusable plastic containers. It remained to be seen how oft of a dent theyd make in the demand for boxes. More worrying, consolidation in the study industry had wiped out hundreds of the U. S. plants that Edmunds once served, with many of the survivors any opening overseas facilities or entering into sound out ventures abroad. The surviving manufacturers were investing in higher timbre machines that broke down less frequently, thus requiring less of Edmunds parts.Still, he had to admit that alth ough the highly disconnected U. S. corrugated box industry certainly hooked as a mature one, no one seriously expected U. S. manufacturers to be dislodged from their position as major producers for both the domestic and export markets. Edmunds was distinctly at a crossroads. If Larry wanted that steady growth hed assumed he could guess on not so long ago, he suspect that business as usual wasnt going to work. But if he wanted the company to grow, what was the best way to achieve that goal? each(prenominal) he knew for sure was that once he heady where to take the company from here, he would sleep better. QUESTIONS 1. What would the thrum analysis look like for this company? 2. What affair do you expect the Internet to play in the corrugated box industry? What are several(prenominal) ways that Edmunds could better use the Internet to sustain growth? 3. Which of Porters competitive strategies would you pep up that Edmunds follow? Which of the strategies do you think would be least likely to succeed?