Executive Summary

The current report tends to discuss about the importance and significance of operational management to maintain higher degree of business engagement. This also is focusing towards widening the scopes for ensuring higher degree of business performance and the financial profitability. In this respect the appropriate set of analysis of Elite Printing Services, the company is widening its overall business performance to meet the increased demands of A&B company who is ordering about 6,00,000 cards within six weeks timeframe.

Table of Contents

Introduction. 4

Application of relevant models to analyze the external performance of EPS. 4

The difference with existing customers. 6

Identification and evaluation of potential risks. 7

Identification and evaluation of accepting rewards from A&B.. 11

Recommendation for EPS to implement different practices for order handling. 11

Conclusion. 13

References. 14

Introduction

In the contemporary competitive business environment, companies are actively working towards changing their existing business strategies to attract a higher number of customer engagement and overall financial profitability. Changing the existing business environment and business strategies are therefore firmly contributing towards widening the business activities long term business engagement (Singhand Hong, 2020). This report, therefore, is focusing on the identification and the4 overall developmental business strategies for Elite Print Services in the contemporary business environment. The EPS or the Elite Print Services, a member of The Elite Group is actively working towards the pre-press and technology market to become a world-class company providing complete production services for corporations.

Application of relevant models to analyze the external performance of EPS

The Elite Print Services, being one of the most reputed and developed Print and advertisement companies, is also facing strategic challenges in ensuring a higher number of customers and overall financial profitability. External factors are certainly very much challenging for the company for ensuring a higher number of customer engagement and the engagement of the business performance in a much appropriate and efficient manner (Pavitt, 2014). While doing so companies like EPS must work towards the overall development of strategic marketing approaches to tackle challenging external business environments. In this paper, the use of the 4 V’s model will certainly help in ensuring the way through which the company is able to maintain its external business factors more firmly and appropriately. This overall analysis of 4V’s has strategically focused on the identification and the analysis of the external market challenges that the company is facing in recent times to ensure a higher degree of customer engagement and financial profitability. Using four different elements of the 4 V’s model, including Volume, verity, Variations in demand, visibility, the company is also able to ensure future business strategic planning to engage with a higher number of customers.

Volume: Being one of the most critical and important business industries, it has a wider range of new entry scopes to ensure a higher degree of business enhancement. Low levels of financial costs for overall market entry is also very much effective for ensuring a higher degree of engagement. The company is in this respect investing in a higher number of financial productions of its goods and services for satisfying the overall demands of the customers. This, therefore, is referred to as a physical number of units or items that EPS is delivering (Ahlan, 2014)

Variety: The printing industry is also a constantly changing environment that requires proper adoption of changes to ensure a higher number of customer engagements. These factors are therefore becoming a major issue of concern for the existing companies (Galais et al., 2021). Customers are also wanting for better and quality materials to ensure overall business profitability. Hence, the threat of substitution is also very high. EPS is therefore producing a number of products and quality variety to attract a higher number of customers. These include birthday humour, reasons to be happy, don’t forget, Landscape L83, Landscape L78, Landscape L98, Animal A254A and multiple others.

Variation in demand: It is also very high to ensure overall business engagement and position of the last survivors in declining markets, only a handful of raw material suppliers are available in the market, which results in increased rates of challenges present in this industry (Shahrubudin, Lee, and Ramlan, 2019). On the other hand, due to the emergence of new manufacturing and printing equipment are also developing in the market that is also challenging the existing suppliers (Galais et al., 2021). Due to the rapid changes in the market, and growing competition within the companies, the demand variation is actively changing to meet the customer requirements. This is also becoming a major issue of concern for the EPS.

Figure 1: 4V’s model

(Source: Pavitt, 2014)

Visibility: Customer power is also very much higher in the printing industry due to the rapid rise of the customers and the market competitors. In this respect the companies are not able to compete with the growing markets to ensure efficient flow of the customers. Customers are also looking for better opportunities, enhanced quality and the cheap rates in the markets, which are also hampering the print industry very much (Ahlan, 2014). Due to rapid growth of the business competitiveness, companies are facing extensive set of market competitions to ensure overall business engagement and the enhancement of business performance as a whole. This higher number of competitive rivalry is also hampering the companies to ensure higher number of customer engagement and the financial profitability more firmly and appropriately.

The difference with existing customers

The company is also facing extensive business pressure from the growing demands and frequent changes in demand requirements for both of its existing and new customers (Osei-Kyei and Chan, 2017). The Elite Print Services is in this respect not able to maintain a higher degree of customer engagement and market share despite having significant scopes for improvement. In general the company receives the orders for developing cards and prints runs of between 5000 and 10,000 sheets, in which the average is about 8000 sheets. Moreover the most popular segment of its overall printing sheets sizes are 175 x 125 mm. There are a number of other customers who demand slightly modified cards with an enhanced set of developmental frameworks. The table is going to discuss usual customer requirements for cards from EPS firm. The below mentioned business Process mapping strategy is also one of the critical and effective set of frameworks to ensure higher degree of business engagement. In these respect wider ranges of business engagement and delivery of goose and services to the customers is certainly very much important to gain a higher degree of financial profit abilities. It helps the EPS to understand the overall business stages that it must need to incorporate in enhancing its business development and customer engagement. This not only widens the strategy to engage a higher degree of business competitiveness (Satyal et al., 2019). Moreover, in the case of EPS the stages of the business process are also helping the company in enhancing its overall business engagement and delivery of a proper set of goods and services to the customers more firmly and appropriately. The strategic approach using which, it can accept the orders of the customers and deliver them the final product within a specific time frame (Villalba et al., 2019). The company must also incorporate the strategy for checking the requirements of the orders, specifically from A&B to fulfil their variety of demands within the stipulated time frame and to maintain the business growth more firmly.

Figure 1: Order Processing Mapping

(Source: Alipour Bertilsson, 2019)

Identification and evaluation of potential risks

In any kind of order delivery process, risk assessment is important as it helps in identifying the potential issues that may hamper the performance of the organization. Elite Print Services (EPS) is a significant part of the Elite Group which is a pioneer in prints and press services technology. EPS has a number of suppliers but all of those are generally small suppliers (Truong and Hara, 2018). In order to grab the target market and be the leader of the printing market, contacting big retailers is important. A&B Supermarket corporation is a big retailer which is impressed by the printed products of EPS and through constant efforts of the accounts manager Kate Wilson the company is on the verge of getting the huge order from A&B. The printing technology and the print designs that EPS has used till now are somehow different from the demands of the products by A&B. Therefore, there are certain risks that can be experienced by EPS while accepting the orders from A&B (Padula et al., 2017).

Identified risks	Evaluation	Impact
The majority of the orders of EPS were between 5000-10000 sheets in the means of printing quantities. However, the printing demand of the orders of A&B starts with 600000 sheets. Therefore, delivering the orders within time may be difficult for EPS.	Each company works on the basis of capacity. Capacity enhancement cannot be done in a few amount of time (Saglam, Çankaya and Sezen, 2020). As the Christmas orders are approaching EPS, enhancing printing capacity from 10000 to 60000 sheets is really risky.	Failing to deliver the exact quantity of orders in time can hamper the reputation of EPS in the highly competitive market.
As per the traditional design EPS generally prints the cards that are made up of thick papers and only 12-16 cards can be printed from one sheet. However, the demand of A&B does not match with the conventional printing procedure of EPS and it demands smaller cards that are so well arranged that no amount of paper gets wasted.	The conventional card layout of A&B is done in thick papers which causes the loss of a significant amount of paper. However, recycling and waste management re the two important aspects of present-day printing which may take time for full adoption by EPS.	A&B is not going to pay for the wasted papers so, if EPS does not modify the layout then it may face loss.
The third risk is associated with the lack of design of the cards available to EPS. A&B has asked for five distinct variants while EPS has just one design of cards.	As the competition of the printing market is being increased the demands for innovative designs are also increasing (Coleman, 2010). Lack of design may make the reputation of EPs questionable.	Instant creation of modern designs is not possible, however, it is necessary to satisfy A&B.
EPS generally issues the orders in a full-stack manner. In a conventional way, they generally supply a huge order in a single delivery lot. However, A&B prefers the week by week delivery process. Therefore, changing the delivery pattern may be risky for EPS.	EPS is generally habituated with bulk order delivery. Therefore, modifying the bulk order delivery into weekly order delivery may be challenging.	Failing to deliver orders in time can hamper the reputation of EPS.
For a longer time period, EPS has overlooked its technical and manufacturing department which is the main base of the business. Even if they get the order of A&B, redesigning these two departments is going to be very risky for EPS.	Without technical advancements, modern cards cannot be designed.	EPS is not going to meet the product standards of A&B.
As discussed by Kate, EPS does not have the capacity of producing a bulk order of cards in just a few days. Therefore, they have to manage the employees to work extra on Sundays and Saturdays. However, the decision can give rise to employee unrest.	A prompt increase of production capacity is not possible.	Delivery of the bulk Christmas card orders may get late.
In order to meet the targets of A&B, EPS has to outsource the orders of the cards for binding and packaging.	Relying on outsourced material can be risky (Sousa, Nunes, and Lopes, 2015).	Outsourced products may not match the requirements of A&B.
The special paper that was required to prepare the cards of A&B has not been supplied by the suppliers.	Quality of the cards may be dropped due to the absence of the papers (Lewis, 2003).	A&B may not be able to maintain its reputation.
Dye cutting and gold blocking are two important parts of the card preparation but due to lack of competent people they had to get it done from inexperienced outsourced companies.	Arranging experienced staff in a short time is challenging.	Lack of people may delay delivery.
As A&B is one of the main retailers of the print technology market, it can be said that if EPS fails to deliver the orders in time then you may not get such a huge order in future which is very risky for the reputation of the company.	Delivering A&B is the first point of expanding business of A&B, so if the company fails in this, its market reputation is going to be hampered.	EPS may not get such huge orders in future.

Table 1: Possible risks related to acceptance of the orders of A&B with prolonged evaluation

(Source: Self-created)

Identification and evaluation of accepting rewards from A&B

Reputation is an important asset of any company. By delivering the demanded orders with proper quality and in proper time can enhance the professional reputation of EPS in the global printing market. In order to meet the order requirement of A&B, capacity and skill improvement of EPS are needed. Moreover, it has to redesign the manufacturing and technology departments. These improvements can help the company to grab such bulk orders in future as well (Singh and Hong, 2020).

Recommendation for EPS to implement different practices for order handling

The printers that are used now can generally print 6000 sheets/ hour. On the other hand, the guillotines can cut 4000 sheets/ hour. The folders can hold 24000 cards/hour. As of now there are 5 printing machines, 3 guillotines and 5 folders. Presently the production time is 8 hour/ day. So considering 6000 sheets/ hour, total production of one day is 6000*8 = 48000 cards as per the capacity of the printers. As per the guillotine, it can be said that each day 4000*8 = 32000 sheets can be produced each day. The number of total cards that can be made each hour as per the number of the folders is 24000/20 = 1200/ hour. (20 is the card number in one sheet) 

Let us assume, in 1 hour 1200 sheets can be produced then in 8 hours, total number of sheets are going to be 1200*8 = 9600 sheets.

Presently the working time is 8 hours and the different plan that is going to adhere is to focus on overtime production. Each day workers are going to work for 12 hours to meet their needs. Thus, considering the overtime production, total production is 1200*12*3 = 14400*3 = 43200 sheets/day. So, the shortage of production now is (48000-43200) sheets/ day = 4800 sheets. If, it is considered that guillotines and printers are working for five days then the total amount of shortage is (5*4800) = 24000 cards.

As per the current demand of A&B, 600000 cards are to be delivered in six weeks. Thus, it can be said that in one week (600000/6) = 100000 cards have to be produced.

In one day production of cards is 48000, then 100000 cards can be prepared in 2.08 days or 49 hours. In this way, if EPS starts production by the initiation of October, they can deliver the cards by the 2nd half of November to A&B.

A production cushion has to be kept for two hours each week. In this case, one hour has to be given in printing, 1.5 hours have to be spent on guillotine and 3-4 hours are to be spent on a folding machine. 

However, it can be said that EPS has to improve its capacity in an effective manner to reach the targeted goal. It has planned to approach the employees for working overtime but it is not sure whether they are going to accept the offer or not. In addition, if EPS has to functionalise the overtime plan, then it has to pay double to the employees. Increased burden of payment can increase the loss of the company as well.  Therefore, it can be said that doing overtime is seen as a viable option for the present time being but it may get rejected by the employees if all the financial needs of them are not properly maintained (Azyan, Pulakanam, and Pons, 2017). EPS has a limited number of resources which with maximum capacity of activity can help it to deliver the entire order within mid of November. However, machineries can get damaged due to overstress (Moreira et al., 2018). As of now EPS has no backup plan to leverage the losses. Thus, it can be said that with trying to implement the overtime working plan, EPS has to focus on resource maximization so it can achieve the targets properly.

From the above analysis, it has become much clearer to ensure higher degree of business competitiveness in a much appropriate and effective manner. In this respect, the company must need to enhance it man power as well as Guillotine capacity more firmly to meet the enhanced requirements of A&B. as the customer is demanding for the delivery of 6,00,000 cards in 6 weeks of timeframe. This enhanced demand coming from A&B for production is certainly an important and challenging task for the company to meet, for this  respect the company is aiming to enhance its daily working hours from 8 hours per day to 12 hours per day in which extra four hour is overtime, which will be paid extra to the human resources. This will help the company to meet the production of extra cards for A&B. Again the factors associated with different sets of business demands must also need to be met. The company must also work towards meeting the enhanced demand through acquiring a higher number of raw materials more firmly and appropriately. Moreover, the special paper must need to be obtained through one of the usual paper suppliers, and for the metallic inks and gold-blocking, the company must also need to work with new suppliers who have only a handful of experience in this field.

Moreover, to meet the special requirements from A&B the company must also need to work actively towards enhancing the technical skills, by properly valuing the customer demands. Moreover, to retain the customers like A&B the company is working actively towards maintaining its service performance and fulfil the demands more firmly and appropriately.

Conclusion

In conclusion, thus, it can be said that overall enhancement and the development of business performance requires a proper set of change management procedures for the companies. This not only widens the scope for engagement of a higher number of customers and delivers better scopes of goods and services, but also helps in gaining higher profit from market shares. The current paper has therefore provided a number of business performances and the enhancement of business performance for firmly and appropriately. ERP in this respect firmly needs to work towards the enhancement and development of its overall production strategies to meet the growing demands from the customer’s end. This will also provide the company with a higher number of financial profitability.