In order to manufacture a product, actions must be done in a certain order with certain materials. All the activities that a company performs internally combine to form a value chain* (Thompson et al, 2018). Thethe primary activities in a value chain are supply chain management, operations, distrubtion, sales and marketing, and service; the supportive activities are product R&D, technology, and systems development (Thompson et al, 2018). BBC has utilized its value chain activities to improve its comeptitive position. As noted before, BBC’s gross margin grew from 50.7 to 52.1 percent between 2016-17, due to cost saving initiatives and price increases; further, increases to advertising, promotional, and selling expenses were partially offset by decreases in point-of-sale (POS) costs and freight to distrubitors (Boston Beer Co., 2018). Moreover, BBC’s sales of Twisted Tea® and Truly Spiked & Sparkingling® brands have helped maintain its position as a leader, and BBC has plans to heavily promote its Samuel Adams® brand to maintain its dominance in the craft beer industry (Boston Beer Co., 2018). Recommendation(s) BBC has admitted that its Samuel Adams® brand is declining (Boston Beer Co., 2018). As this is the centerpiece of BBC’s brand, …show more content…
Recently, BBC launched its Sam ‘76® beer which is supported by new media, launch events, and other marketing programs to drive awareness of a revolutionary beer (Boston Beer Co., 2018). Within this one example, BBC is focusing on the attributes of the niche market with a product in line with niche members’ tastes, and is communicating how this product meets the expectations of the niche member, while remaining committed to serving the niche better than any rival. Aspects of the value chain activities are clearly addressed. Companies do not lose money when they shift from high-margin to high-volume products (Williamson & Zeng,