Question

also well known in the housing estate industry. Its products include household furniture, office furniture

and industrial furniture. In the housing estate industry, it has partnership agreements with contractors to roof houses, fix doors and windows and provide all the furniture in the estate houses and office accommodation units that are being constructed by the latter. Its unique finishings are enhanced by the modern equipment, well-trained and flexible workforce including carpenters, joiners and other staff that are in its workshops and showrooms spread around the country.

The success of Unique Furniture is partly driven by its parent company, PK Wood Processing, a timber processing company based in Samboa that supplies quality wood to the latter on a regular basis and at a reduced cost. From the supply of materials through processing, transportation of finished products and installations, the company appears to have a perfect coordination of activities that is making it perform better than its competitors. The company has a five-year maintenance free policy with its customers.

Required:

1. Describe how Unique Furniture is using the following strategies to perform better than its competitors:

1. Cost reduction
2. Quality products
3. Capacity and location of business   

(b) Draw a value chain to illustrate the activities of Unique Furniture Limited.       

Answer 1

a. Unique furniture is having the perfect coordination of all its activities like logistics, getting processed timber from its parent company, having all modern machinery, and other competencies to gain a competitive advantage against its rivals. It is able to achieve cost reduction by,

• Cost reduction: It gets its best quality timber from its parent company P.K.Wood processing at a reduced cost which allows the company to manufacture cost-effective products that are better than its competitors. This kind of cost-effective raw materials allows Unique Furniture Limited to achieve cost reduction and transfer the same to the customers.
• Quality products: Unique Furniture has collaboration arrangements with builders for roof houses, repairing doors and windows, and supplying all the furniture in the estate's houses and business accommodation units that the company is constructing. The specific finishings are improved by modern machinery, well-trained and versatile manpower including carpenters, joiners that allow quality goods to be produced
• Capacity and location of the business: The company is having its showroom and workforce present across the country that allows it to serve the customers across the country.

Value Chain