Marketing Development and Competitiveness †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Development and Competitiveness. Answer: Introduction The report deals with an international tourism company that provides various online services to its customers. Here the company is Australia based TravelOnline. There is a vivid description about the company and discussion on the supply chain management of the company. In mentioning this, there are various strategies that the company adopts for trying to maintain a sustainable value chain. The report also shows that there exist a linkage between activities of the company and sustainability in the value chain. The company selected here TravelOnline was established in the year 1994. The company boosts of providing high-end quality service to the clients so that passengers have an unforgettable experience that lasts a lifetime. Over the years, the company grew as leading online travel agent specializing in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Middle East and Asia Pacific. The company expected to generate a market share of $1,091 billion by the year 2022 with an annual revenue generation of 12.8%. The company however boasts of few things that include their trained consultants who offer personal service that helps the clients through the process of booking a holiday that suits them ideally. The company also provides specialized holiday packages like at competitive prices that also include exclusive deals from prime industry partners. Some of the packages include Designer Luxe on the Gold Coast at $ 1399, Bali Early Bird Saver at $915, Relax in Vietnam at $1479. The company is Australian owned and operated with head offices in Brisbane, Queensland. The quality standards of the company are not only high but the company also makes sure that the safety of the passengers remain their utmost priority (Bundy, 2012). The company also ensures hospitality of their clients by welcoming them at the airport and departing them to their destined location or hotel. The company also has contacts with major hotels chains for distributing their services and promotions to the partners on regular basis. Moreover, the packages offered by the company provide a set of well-designed activities, transfers and accommodation for the clients at a comparatively low price. However, the company believes in the mission of providing a journey to the clients that is not only flawless but remains cherished with loads of memories (Lukaitis Davey, 2012). The company also believes in providing highest quality hospitality and standard. Although the company offers the convenience of online service but with experience the company has realized that the clients wants a face-to-face interaction while booking the tickets. Travel Online thus provides with an experience where the clients can enjoy both worlds and book the tickets with confidence (Ilic et al., 2012). Moreover, the clients should book tickets with Travel Online since the company has highly trained consultant who are always ready and prompt in offering personal as well as friendly services from the beginning until the end. The company also brings to the clients the best ever online deals and enable the clients to compare the prices of the competitors with the help of TravelOnline Price Promise (Amaro Duarte, 2015). The company is not only easily accessible but is also more convenient as clients can avail the services through phone, fax, email and chat. The company also facilitates the clients to meet the travel needs of the clients via an email. Thus, clients can choose and book flights, car rental, cruising, accommodation and insurance by sending a mail. The company also provides making secure online payments through Paycorp Payment solutions that makes use of latest PCI complaint SSL encryption technology. Supply Chain Management from the Source to the Customer The focus of supply chain management is mainly on the elimination of the waste involved chain and improvement of customer service (Christopher, 2016). The abolition of waste refers to the time needed for waiting, production and inventory of non-ordered products that ensures lowering of cost. Improvement in customer service however refers to the processes that are interlinked that leads to preferred suppliers and an improved turnover and better productivity. In the context of tourism, supply chain management also plays an important in delivering quality services that involves reduced or minimum gaps (Gopalakrishnan et al., 2012). The Supply chain management approach also leads to improvements in customer service in terms of inventory management, transportation system and distribution networks the enables organizations in meeting or even exceeding the expectations of the customers. However, the supply chain involving the tourism companies like TravelOnline involves various components l ike accommodation, excursions and transport, restaurants and bars, food production, disposal of waste and the infrastructure supporting tourism in various destinations (Barney, 2012). They become a part of holiday product that tourist expects when they book a holiday. However, in a tourism supply chain quality depends on performance. The activities of the customers about sourcing them in certain situations and the way they plan to behave while on a holiday represent an important aspect of tourism supply chain. However, the main strategies of the supply chain include strategies for sourcing, distribution, inventory, manufacturing, customer service and integration (Miemczyk, Johnsen, Macquet, 2012). However, in tourism the products and services include hotels, transport, accommodation and destination. Making or buying decision: The services delivered by TravelOnline outsourced directly through their site thereby improving their operations and reducing their cost. Manufacturing Management: The manufacturing component in tourism is only limited to sectors like craft and food, gifts and memento. However, in tourism, services processed at every stage (Mangan Lalwani, 2016). In this regard, TravelOnline also ensures various services like immigration waiting time and visa processing to ensure maximum traveler satisfaction. However, the company makes sure of not only providing security to the tourists but also ensures safe environment once the tourist reaches their destination. Capacity Management: In tourism, capacity management refers to situations that involve instability of the demand where there are situations when demand exceeds the supply in sectors like the airlines and the hotels. However, TravelOnline tries to meet the excessive demand through increase in capacity by introduction of additional flights at exceptional rates. Strategy for Distribution The distribution strategy in tourism industry has impacts that are far reaching and directly affect the development of the industry. Thus, in tourism industry it is very necessary for having sound channel decisions so that the starting and end process of marketing is efficiently and effectively managed (Ahi Searcy, 2013). Four kinds of sales distribution exist for tourism that includes two-stage system, three-stage system and four stage system. However, for the two-stage system, TravelOnline involves a single intermediary known as the travel agent. Sometimes two intermediaries include the wholesaler or tour operator and the retail travel agent. For the four-stage system, TravelOnline involves a travel agent but also additional people who are responsible for developing tour packages. In tourism inventory refers to the constraints and opportunities put forward by the local authorities in attracting tourists. However, number of activities, attractions, things seen and done by visitors hold a specific importance in this context. However, poor quality facilities will make discourage the visitors from choosing the location (Wathne Heide, 2013). Thus, TravelOnline makes sure that they provide quality service to the visitors. Similarly, lack of transportation and accommodation n facilities provided will discourage the visitors from traveling to the destined location. The company therefore makes sure that they provide the necessary facilities for attracting their clients. Thus, there should be an inventory of activities, attractions, accommodation and transport provided by the company so that it not only matches with the demand of the victors but also ensures satisfaction. TravelOnline not only prioritizes the requirements of the tourist but also ensures meeting their a ctivity sectors and attraction. The objective of Tourism Company is ensuring 100% happiness of the customers. Thus, TravelOnline provides sufficient option for accommodation, flight details and attractive tourist spots. Thus, the company also has right systems in place for achieving the goals so that customer satisfaction ensured. Strategy for Integration: The integration strategy of Supply Chain ensures linkage between entities of business present in supply chain. However, tour operators in tourism not only serve as distributors but also producers. Thus, efficiency in supply chain ensures that manufactures suppliers, customers and distribution channels linked in a manner so that they form a chain in developing and delivering products as an organization with pooled skills and resources. Thus, efficiency in the integration process refers to the greatness and success of supply chain system. In this context, the tour operator needs for effectively integrating all the services for designing the output for gaining a competitive advantage. Therefore, TravelOnline effectively manages the supply chain tuning the services provided with the habits and needs of the users. The accommodation facilities are an important aspect in determining the supply chain of tourism. The location factors considered important for the management of hotel services. Therefore, TravelOnline suggests hotels that are not only easily accessible but have well trained staffs who are trustworthy (Tigu Calaretu, 2013). The company provides options for various grades of hotels for accommodating all segments of tourists. However, the comfort and accessibility of the user is a determining factor in having a satisfying experience. The company also makes sure that the tourist can avail all the facilities while booking the hotels. Every ingredient of Tourism fails to get positive response if the tourist does not feel the comfort while travelling to the destination. Thus, there should be transport facilities made available to the tourist. TravelOnline thus makes private transportation facilities available for the guests. In addition to this, the company also makes sure that the service offered is not only safe but also convenient, fast and economic. Food and crafts generate profits for local population when local producers are able to meet delivery and volume production (Xu Gursoy, 2015). Thus, there have been cases when tour operators have made local food and crafts as a part of their packages to enhance tourist attraction. The company mentioned in the report has done similar thing. In addition to providing food and crafts as a part of the package, the company also makes sure they maintain quality, quantity and reliability of the supply. However, promotion of local sourcing requires investment, technical support and training and there is the need of meeting the reliability and quality standards. In the context of tourism, destination refers to the services and infrastructure provided by the company. Thus, initiatives for destination for ensuring sustainability in tourism lead to improvement in the quality of infrastructure that includes improving facilities for waste management, transport and ensuring programs of awareness on management of waste that will increase the number of destinations travelled by the tourists (Song, 2012). Thus, TravelOnline makes various offerings to the tourist in the form of packages for encouraging them to travel and enhance the economic prospects of the company. Linkage Between the Company activities and (Managing Strategic Resources and Operations) theories Sustainability throughout the value chain In Tourism value chain analysis focuses on providing an understanding on the operation of flow of tourism economics, the share of tourism expenditure that reaches different people in different location and ensure a segment through the analysis by specifying the young , women, poor and rich. The segmentation also helps in identification of long, medium and short term potential interventions that are responsible for increasing the economic benefits of the target group or lead to contribution of the general competitive development of the destination meant for tourism (Gereffi Fernandez-Stark, 2016). Thus, the approach of value chain refers to a methodology that not only analyses but also appropriately selects a complete value chain that engages key actors of the private sector actors facilitating strengthening and establishment of commercially or sustainable viable solutions. These solutions are only market based but also provided by the actors in the private sector in creating impacts that are economically positive for the target population. Thus, the chosen travel company supports market-based solutions that help it in gaining sustainable solutions to opportunities and constraints avoid distortions of the market, expand its outreach to a large of providers and looking at solutions that might already exist in private sector. However, the activities of the company in following a sustainable value chain approach also ensure certain advantages that are as follows: Promotion of coordination among actors in the market Helps in identifying the interventions that addresses the bottlenecks and helps in strengthening the entire chain Helps the company in focusing the specific business needs to the targeted sector Helps in focusing on sectors with substantial potential for affecting the target population Conclusion The report concludes in the light of providing a linkage between the activities of the company and sustainability throughout the value chain. In explaining this, a brief description of value chain mentioned. The report also discusses about the supply chain management of the company to the source to the consumer. In dealing with this, the report discusses about the various strategies adopted in value chain analysis and describes them vividly in the context of the company. 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