DMI-ST.

JOHN THE BAPTIST UNIVERSITY LILONGWE CAMPUS

NAME OF STAFF :

NAME OF STUDENT : RONALD BROWN

YEAR :

COURSE CODE : 552AC65-W

COURSE NAME : GENERAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

COURSE TITLE :

DUE DATE : 20th NOVEMBER, 2022.

A business resource is any tool or asset used to establish, manage or maintain company
operations. A business resource can be a person (or group of people), an intangible object, or a
tangible item (Angela, 2020). The effectiveness of each resource varies depending on the way
the manager or owner, uses it in operations as well as they know of the resource. Business
resources are anything and everything that helps a company operate and do business. This can
include the use of human capital, natural resources, tangible resources such as property or
production machinery, intangible resources such as brand image and knowledge, financial
resources, and anything else a particular business may use to make a profit. Every business
resource used to produce goods or to serve customers has an economic value (Angela, 2020).
The SME that is going to be adopted is Kombeza foods. Kombeza foods is a food and Dairy
processing company in Malawi. One of the food products produced by Kombeza foods is
Kombeza Yoghurt. The product that is going to be introduced is Kombeza Yoggie targeting
young children.

One of the company resources that can be changed to sell a newly introduced Kombeza product
is distribution centers. Distribution centers are one of the tangible resources of a company. Who
is going to sell the product? Can one use the same independent representatives or Salesforce? Is
there sufficient sales potential in the new product to convince a distributor, retailer, or agent to
take on the new line? These are some of the questions that should be looked into when
introducing a new product on the market. Currently, some of the distribution centers for
Kombeza products are Shoprite and Chipiku stores which are available in cities, so to reach
people in the rural areas where these stores are not available the company needs to set up new
distribution centers which will be responsible for retail operating. This will ensure that the
product is available to the targeted market.

Another resource that can be changed is humans in the promotion of the brand name. On this, the
company needs to ensure that the brand name is promoted so that even people in rural
communities should be familiar with it. One way of promoting a brand name is through
advertisements, sales promotions, and others. Again the company can integrate with social media
influencers in promoting the product. This can be done by targeting social media celebrities,
bloggers, and others who have many followers to speak about and market the targeted product to
their followers. Such a way of marketing will help the company to increase its sales country-
wide since social media like Facebook is widely used nowadays by people even from rural areas.

A company that efficiently uses all of its different business resources will perform at a higher
level and make more money than companies that do not. Every business resource adds a certain
value to the company; the value is determined by the quantity and quality of the resource.

II. The product mix or product assortment is the total number of product lines a company sells to
its customers. The product line is the list of all related products marketed by a single firm. The
Four dimensions of a company product mix include width, length, depth, and consistency
(Sarkissian, n.d). From time to time the product mix needs to be changed because customer tastes
change. We live in a society that is always evolving. By changing or improving the product mix
managers can increase the profitability of the business (Hague, 2018).

Product mix can be improved in various ways. One is product modification. This refers to
changing the product's characteristics such as the quality, function, and appearance. To do this,
the business must learn the needs of the customer and ensure that the modifications are in line
with them (Nagle & Müller, 2017). For example, modifying the packaging of Kombeza products
into small bottles will help low-income earners to afford to buy the products because small
packages will also mean a slash in price. This is the case because it has been observed that many
Kombeza products have been expiring whilst in the stores because people cannot afford to buy
the big Kombeza bottles due to their high price. If properly done, such modifications improve the
effectiveness, quality, and safety of the products.

Product mix can also be improved through product mix decisions. Notably, increasing the width
or depth of the product mix or decreasing consistency may be unsuccessful. This is because
company resources and market needs influence product mix decisions. If a company notes that
the sales of a certain category of products are low and the product is overstretching its resources,
the company can opt to increase consistency by reducing product width and depth. In turn, the
company will serve its target market better and also increase profitability (Fernandes, Gouveia &
Pinho, 2012).
 REFERENCES

Fernandes, R., Gouveia, J. B., & Pinho, C. (2012). Product mix strategy and manufacturing
flexibility. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 31(3), 301-311.

Hague, D. (2018). Pricing in business. Routledge.

Nagle, T. T., & Müller, G. (2017). The strategy and tactics of pricing: A guide to growing more
profitably. Routledge.

Sarkissian, A. (n.d). How To Improve Product Mix. Retrieved from:

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/improve-product-mix-64496.html.

Angela, H (2020). Criteria that make product Innovation Successful. Retrieved from:
https://www.qmarkets.cloud/live/lead-user-network/subdomain/news.