Ben and Jerry Case

What should Bob Holland do?

1. Though the consumer preferences in ice-cream industry has been shifting from super premium to less expensive premium ice creams, it would not be a good idea for Ben & Jerry’s to expand in the premium market at present. Production capabilities at B&J are seriously constrained to meet even the present demand so expanding into other product areas would not be feasible. Expansion in premium segment will also cause dilution of differentiation factor and loss of brand loyalty
2. Almost 10% of production cost of ice creams is accounted by plastic containers for packaging. Consistent with its social mission, B&J should introduce paper based eco-packaging. This would help the company to overcome criticism for genuineness  of its social mission and also reduce costs to attract back the increasingly cost conscious buyers
3. Bob Holland with his past experience in both distribution and manufacturing, should work on increasing the efficiencies of distribution and manufacturing processes at B&J
4. Holland should encourage proper installation of state-of-the art technology in the plants and enforce efficient processes to improve productivity and reduce costs
5. Direct to store delivery distribution system which would reduce inefficiencies and cost and also ensure better product placement
6. Focus on marketing and advertising instead of relying on word of mouth, especially for the newly introduced products.
7. Strong emphasis on marketing research and demand forecasting, so that unpopular products can be eliminated and new products based on consumer preferences can be introduced
8. Nation-wide product delivery from just one centralised location should be avoided as it is a highly energy intensive process, which increases distribution costs and also hurts B&J’s claim to environmental responsibility
9. Holland should overcome the companies’ conservative debt policy to borrow money for long term investment in manufacturing facilities to meet increasing product demands and also look for lucrative market opportunities overseas