Explain how SunPower used benchmarking to improve its competitive position in the U.S. solar power industry.
What will be an ideal response?
In 2008, SunPower-one of the largest solar firms in the United States-used benchmarking to target a 50 percent decrease in its solar LCOE by 2012. This early benchmarking strategy helped the company to defend against new market entrants offering lower prices. But in the ensuing years, between 2009 and 2014, the overall industry solar LCOE fell by 78 percent, leading the company to conclude that an even more aggressive approach was needed to manage downward-pricing pressure. Over the course of 2017, SunPower's quarterly earnings calls highlighted efforts to compete on benchmark prices by simplifying its company structure; divesting from noncore assets; and diversifying beyond the low-cost, large-scale utility solar market and into residential and commercial solar-where it could compete more easily on price.
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Why is constructing a data warehouse more difficult for in-store transactions than it is for online shopping?
A. Availability of store assortments is not always similar to website assortments. B. Customer returns to the store confound the data. C. Store purchases can be made with cash or third-party credit cards. D. Since customers are more likely to buy gifts for others in stores than online, it defeats the purpose of understanding the end-user. E. Store customers are not interested in sharing personal information.
Edwin Ghiselli identified ______ as the most important trait for effective leadership.
a. decisiveness b. supervisory ability c. initiative d. intelligence
If the product or service offered by a franchisor has not been tested, it should appear on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) franchise notice
Indicate whether the statement is true or false
Research depicts the typical Saturn dirt bike shopper as a middle-aged person with an income of $75,000 per annum. This is an example of:
A. market segmentation research. B. retailing research. C. focus group research. D. pricing strategy research. E. positioning research.