GL : creating a new channel in the distribution system : “Add consumer as new friend”

• Autor(a) principal: Lemos, João Bilton de
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/15624
• topic: Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

GL, importação & exportação, SA (GLSA) is a Portuguese Small and Medium enterprise (SME) that operates as trader and creator of several solutions in the food industry, namely dairy and convenience products. Since 1942, when it was founded, the company had to be flexible enough to be constantly adapting their business structure to the market environment, which led them to swap overtime from a Portuguese representative of English manufacturers of raw materials for industries, to an international SME in the food field. Nowadays, the company is increasing their presence in international markets; however, the Portuguese market needs new strategies to invert the current cycle and adapt their offer to the new consumer needs. The focus of the present dissertation, written in form of a case study, is to assess the possibility of creating a direct channel on the distribution system, in order to be closer to the end consumer and increase sales. That channel would be presented as an online platform aimed to satisfy needs for catering, coffee-breaks and online ordering of lunch boxes. The teaching case gives an overview about the changes occurred in the company since it was founded, present the actual context of the business, and it ends with the project plan and forecasts to start selling directly to end consumers through internet. The dissertation covers the steps needed to analyse the market environment by implementing research methods to help the students to reach a final decision in the end. Those research methods includes a literature review that analyses the internet channel, check for new trends, identify consumers’ needs and what is being done worldwide and a survey that was conducted in the Portuguese market in order to identify consumers preferences and habits. The main conclusions drawn from this study are that GLSA is struggling in the Portuguese market, where several challenges are appearing and threatening the company’s operations. An internet platform appears to be an effective measure, not to solve the problems immediately, but along with continuous product innovation and low-price products, in order to facilitate consumer’s needs, can be considered a key element, with low risk, to change the current negative paradigm.