Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an integrated information system to take care of all departments within an enterprise. An ERP system generally includes software for sales, manufacturing, materials management, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, warehousing, transportation etc. Many ERP systems also offer human resource management module or HRIS. Lot of effort is required for ERP planning and implementation. First step of automating your enterprise is to set up a committee to look into the requirement and feasibility of various ERP systems, which may lead eventually to ERP planning. The first stage is ERP planning and organizing. Two types of questionnaires may be prepared. One questionnaire shall address the needs of the organization to collect the information “as-is” and the Continue reading
Abey Francis
Abey Francis, a freelance writer and a professional blogger who enjoys
the challenges of creativity and attention to detail. He has published
many articles and editorials regarding management on different blogs and online journals. His articles stimulate thinking of corporate managers
on key issues of organizations and management. His research interests
focus on international management, International trade finance,
Investment management, leadership, social capital and knowledge
management in enterprises and cross-culture studies.
New Products and Brand Extensions
When a firm introduces a new product, it has three main choices as to how to brand it: It can develop a new brand, individually chosen for the new product. It can apply, in some way, one of its existing brands. It can use a combination of a new brand with an existing brand. A brand extension is when a firm uses an established brand name to introduce a new product. When a new brand is combined with an existing brand, the brand extension can also be called a sub-brand. An existing brand that gives birth to a brand extension is referred to as the parent brand. If the parent brand is already associated with multiple products through brand extensions, Continue reading
Brand Value Proposition
The bottom line is that unless the role of a brand is simply to support other brands by providing credibility, the brand identity needs to provide a value proposition to the customer. What is a brand value proposition? Brand value proposition is a statement of functional, emotional, and self-expressive benefits delivered by the brand that provide value to the customer. An effective brand  value proposition should lead to a brand–customer relationship and drive purchase decisions. The central concepts of functional, emotional, and self-expressive benefits of brand  value proposition  are explained below. 1. Functional Benefits The most visible and common basis for a brand value proposition is a func Âtional benefit–that is, a benefit based on a product attribute that provides Continue reading
Brand Identity Traps
Brand Identity Traps represent approaches to creating an identity that are excessively limiting or tactical and that can lead to ineffective, and often dysfunctional, brand strategies. After these brand identity traps have been analyzed, a broader identity concept will be developed, its scope and structure discussed, and the value proposition and credibility that flow from it examined. The Brand Image Trap Knowledge of the brand image (how customers and others perceive the brand) provides useful and even necessary background information when developing a brand identity. In the brand image trap, however, the patience, resources, or expertise to go beyond the brand image is lacking, and the brand image becomes the brand identity rather than just one input to be considered. Continue reading
Brand Identity
A person’s identity serves to provide direction, purpose, and meaning for that person. Consider how important the following questions are: What are my core values? What do I stand for? How I want to be perceived? What personality traits do I want to project? What are the important relationships in my life? A brand identity similarly provides direction, purpose and meaning for the brand. It is central to a brand’s strategic vision and the driver of one of the four principal dimensions of brand equity associations, which are the heart and soul of the brand. Nestle uses the term brand constitution to reflect the importance and reverence with which a brand identity should be held. So, what exactly is brand Continue reading
Brand Hierarchy
A brand hierarchy is a means of summarizing the branding strategy by displaying the number and nature of common and distinctive brand elements across the firm’s products, revealing the explicit ordering of brand elements. By capturing the potential branding rela Âtionships among the different products sold by the firm, a brand hierarchy is a useful means of graphically portraying a firm’s branding strategy. Specifically, a brand hierarchy is based on the realization that a product can be branded in different ways depending on how many new and existing brand elements are used and how they are combined for any one product. Because certain brand elements are used to make more than one brand, a hierarchy can be constructed to represent Continue reading