Smuckers Essay

Words: 970
Pages: 4

1. What is J. M. Smucker Company’s corporate strategy? What common strategy elements are shared across its brands? Did it make sense for Smucker to expand its business lineup beyond jams, jellies, and preserves? Why or why not?
J.M smackers corporate strategy is basically forming 3 major goals:
A) Grow existing brands.
B) Introduce new products.
C) Make strategic acquisitions.
These three goals are focused on the U.S Market. Across its brands Smuckers aims to be the number one product in all of the lines that they compete in. The reason they started to expand was to protect itself from becoming an acquisition of a larger company. By expanding the company it has made itself less of a target and harder to become an acquisition by
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With that strategy as a seller of processed foods, Smuckers has done a good job in expanding and growing its product lines and increasing its presence in supermarkets in North America. Peanut butter goes hand in hand with jams, cooking oil goes with baking mixes, Folgers coffee is a good way to expand from the breakfast table to the workplace and syrups and topping go well with pancake and waffle mixes. Value chain match ups which should give Smuckers cost savings include Peanut butter and oils, Fruit spreads and fruit toppings, syrups and juices, baking mixes and frostings with flour and baking ingredients. Smuckers as a food processor can also benefit by giving its food processing experience to newly acquired business units and vice versa (the experience curve) this will help save lots of money. Processing techniques, packaging and shipping savings, consolidation of operations to fewer locations, combined shipments and storage of products. All of these offer savings which gives Smuckers bargaining power with suppliers and supermarkets.
4. Does Smucker’s lineup of business and brands exhibit good financial resource fit? Does it appear that Smucker Company’s business are cash hogs or cash cows? What do the company’s cash flow characteristics disclose about its ability to make new acquisitions or major investments in the current business lineup?
The financial data reveals that the Smucker Company’s business units are cash cows with working capital