Calyx & Corolla Strengths Calyx

Calyx & Corolla Strengths Calyx & Corolla is a company with obvious numerous strengths. The most important of them all is the business concept and idea itself. The company had introduced an unique distribution and transport system that allowed it to receive and process orders from the customers and send them to the suppliers, while delivering them further on to the customers. The idea itself provided an excellent supply management system. The second strength that should be listed is the company's human resource and top management.

Ruth Owades had a long career in the mail order business, going back to 1975 and working for CML Group or Williams-Sonoma. Additionally, she had the dedication needed in any enterprise. Fran Wilson and Ann Hayes Lee shared the talent and experience that were needed within the company. A last important strength that should be mentioned was the company's relationship with the growers and with Federal Express, relationships that made possible the entire system.

Because of the specificity of the business and the need to be able to deliver on time the orders, a close bind with the two elements in the supply chain was essential. This was why Ruth Owades personally developed these business relationships into a mutually beneficial connection. Weaknesses The most important weakness that should be perhaps mentioned is the company's financial situation, especially in terms of projected capital for investment.

The last part of the case study suggests the fact that the company may not have the necessary funds in order to finance its further expansion. Another weakness that should be worth mentioning is, in my opinion, the company's complete dependence on Federal Express. It is obvious that Federal Express is number one in its area of activity, however, Opportunities It is important to mention here the fact that the market still offers numerous opportunities for the company.

One of the market opportunities is represented by the customers who normally did not use mail orders. On the other hand, the market itself had sufficient perspectives to encourage an increase in flower sales and to encourage the company to capture more gift business from traditional florists. Given the strengths previously mentioned, most notably the performing distribution concept, Calyx & Corolla is able to divert some of the customers' options away from traditional florists.

In this sense, we may point out that the company has only been present on the market for two and half years, so there is a certain capacity of expansion unexploited. Threats In terms of threats, the main threat is brought about by any potential competitors. We have already had two examples in the case study: Floral Gift Express and Stillwater.

The first proved to be short-lived, however, the second, given its Japanese capitalization and background, more significantly the fact that it belongs to a large conglomerate and has the financial backup needed, could prove a serious challenge. Additionally, the fact that the market offers numerous opportunities, as previously pointed out, may be an incentive for other companies in the future. I would also consider seasonality as a potential market threat.

As we have seen from the case study, winter, for example, brings about additional problems in terms of transport and delivery. The marketing channel of distribution that C&C is part of is formed of the growers, Calyx & Corolla and Federal Express. Let's describe the role each plays in the distribution process. The growers were located generally in California, Florida and Hawaii and ranged net sales from under $1 million to $100 million.

They worked only with C&C, as the contracts specified that they were not allowed to supply any other mail order retailers. As the growers provided the flowers, C&C provided the shipping boxes that were needed, with cards, labels, vases, etc. basically anything that was needed to ensure the concept of gift flowers. The coordination between C&C and its suppliers was essential.

Indeed, demand forecasts were generally sent to the growers in order to ensure that the company would be able to cover any request in the future. The account manager provided from C&C to each grower would ensure and supervise the selection and packing of flowers, as well as the additional features involved, such as gift messages. The second important part of the distribution channel was Federal Express. Federal Express would provide the trucks at each grower in part and would replace them when full.

The relationship with Federal Express had improved over the years and now included Saturday deliveries and an extra attention and care when delivering the flowers to the customers. The computer terminals that C&C used permitted the tracking of each order. If we look at the description of the distribution channel, in my opinion, C&C is itself the middleman in the process.

Indeed, it ensures the connection between the florists and growers and the end consumers, which would be a partial definition of the middle man in a distribution chain. C&C's role as a middleman is.