Innovation is a means for a company to improve upon its current processes and create new one's to add value. A relatively recent change in consumer market demand is the ability to wash fabrics using less water and less energy. Dupont is currently involved with product development efforts to help the detergent industry better achieve this goal. Dupont is launching a newly specialized enzyme alpha amylase for digesting starches. Any starch based stains can easily be removed by digesting into sugars which can be dissolved in cool water. The new product is called PREFERENZ S100 and was developed through protein engineering advances. This new enzyme enables a detergent to be just effective at 16C as at 32C. 16C cool water is roughly 60F.
http://www.dupont.com/corporate-functions/our-approach/sustainability/innovation/stories-innovation/articles/laundry-cold-water.html
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Ch. 3: Environmental Threats
Chapter 3 explores the concepts related to outside company threats to business by competitors. Dupont is a large player in the oligopolistic industry of bulk chemical production and sales. There are few players in this industry and Dupont is not the largest. The cost of entry is very high. BASF corporation leads the pack with a net income of 5.6B last year and more than 110,000 employees world wide. Second is Dupont with 3.6B in net income last year. Then DOW chemical closely follows with 3.4B last year. Exxon mobile desires an honorable mention for its industrial chemicals business unit, however it's financials are private.
Dupont should be concerned with a high threat of rivalry, compared to a low threat of entry. These chemical titans are in constant competition for market share. The threats from whole buyers are sellers are shared among the industry leaders.
Dupont should be concerned with a high threat of rivalry, compared to a low threat of entry. These chemical titans are in constant competition for market share. The threats from whole buyers are sellers are shared among the industry leaders.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Chapter 2: Firm Performance and Competitive Advantage
Chapter 2: Firm Performance and Competitive Advantage
In the 1990's, Dupont took action to refocus it's resources on their core competency business segments. This is the root for a strategy to building upon competitive advantage in the chemical industry. This initiative meant building and investing in it's highest margin business that best fit their strategic goals, while at the same time divesting from those ventures that did not best fit the companies long term intentions. An example of this would be the 1993 transaction between Dupont and ICI in which Dupont acquired the nylon business segment of ICI and ICI acquired the acrylics business from Dupont. Dupont did not make changes to it's mission, but concentrated its business on what it did best.
Though competitive advantage was gained by refocusing resources on core competencies, it does not mean that Dupont lessened it's focus on growth and innovation. In 1994 a joint venture was forged with Conoco which began producing oil from the Russian Arctic. This was the first major oil field brought into production by a Russian/Western entity since the fall of the Soviet Union.
In the 1990's, Dupont took action to refocus it's resources on their core competency business segments. This is the root for a strategy to building upon competitive advantage in the chemical industry. This initiative meant building and investing in it's highest margin business that best fit their strategic goals, while at the same time divesting from those ventures that did not best fit the companies long term intentions. An example of this would be the 1993 transaction between Dupont and ICI in which Dupont acquired the nylon business segment of ICI and ICI acquired the acrylics business from Dupont. Dupont did not make changes to it's mission, but concentrated its business on what it did best.
Though competitive advantage was gained by refocusing resources on core competencies, it does not mean that Dupont lessened it's focus on growth and innovation. In 1994 a joint venture was forged with Conoco which began producing oil from the Russian Arctic. This was the first major oil field brought into production by a Russian/Western entity since the fall of the Soviet Union.
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