Wright Line .

Inc
Presented by Group 10:

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5C ANYLYSIS
Company: Founded in 1934 by E. Stanley Wrights, sold index guides for handling business machine punch card.
1 Expanded the product line to include Data processing supplies and capital equipment.
In 1960, company was merged with Barry Wright Corporation. Sales was around $141 million and net earning of 10.9
COMPANY million by 1982.
The major product groups were- Tape seal, Opti media, Terminal workstations, Data bank, Supplies and accessories,
DOCU MATE.

Collaborators: Incorporate distribution channels like managing direct sales, a catalog/telephone group, a small
COLLABORATORS 2 staff to market selected WL products through outside catalogs and retail stores.

Customers: Sold primarily to Electronic Data Processing departments of large companies and had 21000 major
accounts which constitutes 70% of the total sales
CUSTOMERS 3 Banking, insurance, high-tech manufacturing, government and the petroleum industries were major buyers where
computer use was high

Competitors: Mid-1970s: Three major competitors: Tab Products, Systems Manufacturing, and Monarch Metals,
1982 :Number of competitors had risen to between 50 and 75. New competitors: publishers of mail order
COMPETITORS 4 catalogs, office furniture companies, and office supply stores.

Context: The ever growing technology catered to emerging of smaller and less expensive computers which
reduced the demand for supplies per installation resulting in the company not in pace with the rapid growth and
CONTEXT 5 change in the market for the company's computer-room filing equipment and devices.

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 DECISION PROBLEM

1
Right selection of mix of channels for 3 To increase sales by deciding the
distribution of fragmented market product and its time of release, at a
competitive pricing.

2 Change in the market and reduced productivity per sales rep declined
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demand for supplies due to
decentralization of computer
accessories

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THE PROPOSED ORGANISATION
UNIT 1 UNIT 2 UNIT 3

Would target the 25000 largest Would target 200,000 accounts deemed to Would target the new customers
accounts have greatest sale potential

Would be handling customers above Would be handling customers between No such sales cap
$10,000 annual sales $1000-$10,000

Would require direct channel or the Would also use the existing sales force Would require external distribution channel
existing sales force

Would need no extra time  Also does not require extra time Would require significant time for
implementation

No such constraint No price constraint Has pricing constraint

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ALTERNATIVES

1
Immediate implementation of unit 1 and focus on
development of unit 2

2
Implement unit 3 for expansion simultaneously with unit 1
for stronger direct sales

3
Implementing unit 3 with low cost product line( cost is
high due to catalog)

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 EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
ALTERNATIVE 1:
No extra costs are applied and the price
would remain competitive since we are
using direct distribution channel
ALTERNATIVE 2:
We have the benefit of serving our loyal
customers along with a chance to work
with new customers
Due to this our customer base increases
and we might have to use a hybrid model
of both direct and indirect channels
2

ALTERNATIVE 3:
1
Indirect channel have to be used as a distribution channel due to which costs increase
Catalogs would also impose extra burden up on the company , as they have to
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compete with existing catalog space with other manufacturers
But as market grows these would be beneficial the long run

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• New line of products should be • Incorporate competitive pricing with other

premium priced and released for product offerings through establishing its
sale through Units 1 and 2 own catalog which will also aid in
simultaneously to incorporate branding aspect.
better customer satisfaction.

• For long term benefits unit three can

• New line of products should be be taken in to account in later terms
premium priced and released for sale
through Units 1 and 2 simultaneously
to incorporate better customer
satisfaction. .

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