Thorntons plc ( chocolate company ) - Essay Example

Value Chain Analysis of Thorntons PLC Affiliation: INTRODUCTION Thorntons PLC is a UK based company which is engaged in manufacturing, retailing and the distribution of confectionary items in United Kingdom. Thorntons PLC was established by Mr. Joseph William Thornton in 1911 (Thorntons, 2012) .The company deals in all kinds of chocolates such as milk, dark, mint, white and hot chocolates. Other than this, Thorntons also deals in chocolate fudge, chocolate truffle, sweets, wines and champagnes.

The company is also famous for its greeting cards, wedding and party products, corporate souvenirs and flowers. The company sells their products online and it has its own franchises where the customers can go and buy their desired products. The products are also available in some of the stores and cafes across the country. There are almost 250 franchises of Thorntons that are currently operating (Thorntons, 2012). The company believes in satisfying its consumers with the best offer. As the company’s vision says: “To be Britain’s best loved chocolate brand.

Making every customer smile” (Thorntons, 2012). VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS The concept of value chain was first introduced by Michael Porter in 1980s in his book “Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance” (Porter, 1985). This concept explains that the firm should add value to its products in the shape of value chain, which will help the company or the organization to have a strong competitive advantage since companies are having cut throat competition these days.

Thorntons PLC also has a very strong value chain. Its value chain comprises of procurement, human resource management, technology and development. Procurement The process through which organizations obtain goods and services and the process of requisition through receipts and approval of invoice of payment are known as Procurement. Thorntons PLC believes in having a fast process when it comes to procurement because if the process will be slow then the supply process will be slow which might lead to have a weaker point from the perspective of competitive advantage.

The purchase process will get slow and the process of supply chain will definitely get slow and the product will be unable to reach the stores on time and because of that consumers will have to face difficulty which is not an objective of Thorntons PLC. It wants its consumers to be satisfied with everything. Human Resource Management Human resource management is the back bone or rather the soul of any organization. Organizations these days have realized the importance of human capital in the market.

Thorntons PLC also believes in hiring those personnel who are capable, talented and career oriented. It wants to have the best human resource and give them the opportunities by training them so that they can do the best for the organization to flourish it and take part for it to grow in the right direction. Technology & Development The technologies in the current scenario are upgrading day by day and if the company refuses to switch over to latest technologies there are chances that their competitor can seek through this opportunity and penetrate more than your company in the market.

Thorntons PLC has the latest technologies and they develop themselves as soon as there is any upgrade regarding it. CONCLUSION Thorntons PLC is clear towards its vision and they always believe in giving the best to their consumers because they know that only by taking care of its consumers it can lead towards having a strong competitive advantage and better revenues. REFERENCES Porter, M. E., 1985. Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press.

Thorntons, 2012. Franchise: Chocolates, gifts & presents from Thorntons. [online] Available at: < http://www.thorntons.co.uk/c/franchise.html> [Accessed 14 March 2012]. Thorntons, 2012. Thornton PLC-Company Reports. [online] Available at: < http://www.thorntons.co.uk/c/franchise.html> [Accessed 14 March 2012]. Thorntons, 2012. Thorntons PLC - Home. [online] Available at: < http://investors.thorntons.co.uk/> [Accessed 14 March 2012].