BUS225_Module_One_Assignment, Kimberly-Clark Stretegy to Diversify

docx

School

Southern New Hampshire University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

225

Subject

Business

Date

Feb 20, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by Lainemm123

1 Module One Assignment Laine Arguelles Southern New Hampshire University BUS 225: Critical Business Skills for Success LaShana Butler January 10, 2024

2 Module One Assignment Application Critical thinking is crucial for making informed business decisions and planning for diversification. Businesses can use critical thinking to identify opportunities, manage risks, and make strategic decisions that lead to growth and success. Critical thinking also enables innovative ideas to emerge, and allows for previously unthinkable topics to be discussed, leading to diversified and creative decision-making. Kimberly-Clark, a personal care industry leader, has successfully diversified its products by using critical thinking. By analyzing the subject matter, using data-driven decision-making, and prioritizing progress, Kimberly-Clark has expanded into three major segments: personal care, consumer tissue, and K-C professional brand; and established a strong presence in North America and many international markets. Diversification in similar product lines has enabled cross-marketing and cross-production, while critical thinking has fostered creativity and diversification. Analysis Kimberly-Clark is a multinational company that has been planning its products around people since 1872. They started as a Paper Mill, and expanded six years later into Atlas paper woods combining more products into their repertoire, and then in 1880 was finally incorporated. Their mission statement, "We're inspired by what's beyond essential," reflects their commitment to providing better care for a better world with life essentials in paper materials that go beyond the essential. They specialize in the production of personal care and hygiene products, including diapers, tissues, paper towels, and feminine care products under well-known brands such as Huggies, Kleenex, and Kotex. Their sustainable practices support a healthy planet and build stronger communities, ensuring their business thrives for decades to come. Kimberly-Clark ranks 3rd among Barron's 100 most sustainable companies. Their innovative culture, established by their founders, encourages an entrepreneurial spirit, experimentation in product development, and creativity in marketing. As of November 2023, the latest news release is that Kimberly-Clark Professional has made a multimillion-dollar investment to expand production and strengthen its North American supply chain to meet increased demand for its skin care products. With 45,000 employees around the world, Kimberly-Clark is an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries and holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in 80 countries. Their commitment to delivering their purpose of Better Care for a Better World remains unwavering Kimberly-Clark is a company that continuously seeks to innovate its products and practices in response to changing customer needs. Through attentive listening to feedback from

3 customers and users, they develop innovative solutions and improve their speed to market. With a focus on brand recognition and marketing, the company promotes new products and diversifies its offerings. To introduce new products, K-C takes a customer-centric approach, identifying their needs and working to meet them. Each time there is a new idea or need they put together a market research team to focus on that one line. They strive to expand their portfolio by adding more products and categories, increasing sales margins, and maximizing efficiency. In addition, they aim to provide strong returns to their shareholders by investing capital in ways that create value. K-C conducts test markets to introduce new products, including a chemically treated virucidal tissue, and uses an assertive advertising campaign to expand their position in therapeutic and health-care products, such as Depend incontinence products. Led by Wayne R. Sanders, their team of diversification architects closely monitor market research and the company's outlook to ensure the continued growth of their portfolio of iconic brands. Kimberly-Clark has formulated a diversification strategy that is backed by data-driven insights and a comprehensive understanding of people's fundamental necessities. Kimberly- Clark is a company that owns several brands. According to the company websites 2021 fact sheet, these brands have either the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in 80 countries around the world. In 2020, Kimberly-Clark generated 54 percent of its net sales in North America and 46 percent in international markets. The company has two primary growth pillars: elevating its core businesses in developed markets and accelerating growth in developing and emerging markets. To achieve these goals, Kimberly-Clark plans to drive category development, especially in developing and emerging markets, and invest in its commercial capabilities in revenue management, innovation, digital marketing, and in-market execution. Kimberly-Clark's 2030 sustainability strategy, found on their press release portion of their website, and goals aim to address the social and environmental challenges of the next decade. The company is committed to improving the lives and well-being of one billion people in underserved communities around the world while having the smallest environmental footprint possible. Conclusion There are various examples of research marketing found in an article by Kimberly Clark on "International Directories of Company History." The article states that one of the company's early innovations was the paper used for rotogravure, a procedure for printing photographs with a rotary press. During World War I, this product, called Cellucotton, was used to treat wounds instead of scarce surgical cottons. In 1924, the company introduced another disposable tissue product, Kleenex, to replace the face towels used for removing cold cream. Kimberly- Clark's growing consumer product operations of Kotex also included facial tissue and feminine- care products. Research, market share information, and taking polls and surveys are key in the company's diversification efforts to innovate for the community's ever-changing needs.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

4 Kimberly-Clark test-marketed a chemically treated virucidal tissue and began an aggressive advertising campaign on television for Depend incontinence products to broaden its position in therapeutic and health-care products. Kimberly-Clark acquired Spenco Medical Corporation in Waco, Texas, in 1984, and in the same decade, it introduced the popular Huggies Pull-Ups disposable training pants in 1989. The company then expanded into Europe and Canada. In 1995, Wayne R. Sanders engineered the deal that would usher in a new era for the company, the merger of Kimberly-Clark with Scott Paper Company. The company also began to expand its line of professional health-care products. In 1997, Kimberly-Clark acquired Tecnol Medical Products, Inc., the manufacturer of half of all surgical masks used in U.S. hospitals. According to the K-C website, Kimberly-Clark, a multinational personal care corporation, made the strategic decision to diversify its product portfolio based on a comprehensive analysis of various types of information, including market data, financial reports, and consumer behavior trends. The company considered its own financial capacity and strategic fit while deciding on the diversification strategy. Kimberly-Clark used the rational decision-making model and placed explicit emphasis on logic, evidence, and arguments in their decision-making process. They used evidence of low sales growth and low profit to identify the problem and concluded that diversifying would be beneficial. Under the K-C website press release, in 2019, Kimberly-Clark introduced K-C Strategy 2022, which is their strategic plan to deliver balanced and sustainable growth and create shareholder value in the medium term in what they assume will be a continued challenging environment. Kimberly-Clark is a well-established company that has been in the industry for almost 150 years. They possess a deep understanding of their expertise and use it to their advantage. Kimberly-Clark's strategy of related diversification has been highly successful for the company. Although they faced some challenges, such as when the printing press almost stopped or when market shares were down in Europe, they continued to follow the latest trends in what consumers wanted using the same paper products produced in their factories. While expanding into international markets, they remained focused on their strengths and continued to excel at producing their core products. They continue to find the problem and work towards better solutions for the future investing in our future. According to Heinrich's article, most companies that failed to move more quickly into new consumer products were hardly unique. In the pulp and paper industry, dynamic firms like Kimberly-Clark and Scott grasped the growth potentials of consumer nondurables. Even with the U.S. economy on the rebound, sales remained sluggish at Kimberly-Clark through 2017 due to various factors. Discounting from rivals, particularly Procter & Gamble, put downward pressure on prices, while women continued to have fewer babies, weakening demand for diapers and other baby-care products. Furthermore, higher-than-expected prices for pulp, oil, and other raw materials were hurting profit margins (Long, et al. (eds.) 2020).

6 References GmbH, finanzen net. (2019, January 23). Kimberly-Clark Introduces K-C Strategy 2022 - Quick Facts | Markets Insider . Markets.businessinsider.com. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/kimberly-clark-introduces-k-c- strategy-2022-quick-facts-1027889254 Heinrich, T. (2001). Product Diversification in the U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry: The Case of International Paper... Business History Review , 75 (3), 467. https://doi- org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.2307/3116384 Kimberly-Clark Corporation. (2020). In S. Long, D. Jacques, & P. Kepos (Eds.), International Directory of Company Histories (Vol. 217). St. James Press. https://link-gale- com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/apps/doc/I2501324298/GBIB?u=nhc_main&sid=bookmark- GBIB&xid=e07b152b Kimberly-Clark Corporation . (2001). Kimberly-Clark.com. https://www.kimberly-clark.com/en-us Kimberly-Clark ProfessionalTM Invests in State-of-the-Art Technology to Grow Skin Care Business . (n.d.). Kimberly Clark News. Retrieved January 10, 2024, from https://www.news.kimberly-clark.com/2023-11-13-Kimberly-Clark-Professional-TM- Invests-in-State-of-the-Art-Technology-to-Grow-Skin-Care-Business Soomo Learning. (2020). Critical business skills for success . https://www.webtexts.com

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

BUS225_Module_One_Assignment, Kimberly-Clark Stretegy to Diversify

Related Documents