The BELFOR Group

A company called BELFOR Group is established in the USA and offers businesses and customers services like reconstruction and restoration following damages brought on by fire, floods, storms, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Additionally, they provide recovery services like mold remediation, soot removal, dehumidification, document and media recovery, air duct cleaning, and machinery repair and reconstruction (Intelligence, 2017). Recent competition for the business has come from other rapidly expanding businesses including Clean Harbors, Insta services group, and Maxons restoration group. In order to ensure that they are not out of business, BELFOR has to ensure that they explore all the opportunities available while minimizing threats to maintain high standards of services. This paper seeks to explore the competitive advantages that BELFOR has against other companies, including the threats and opportunities.

Competitive Advantages

A competitive advantage is a strategic advantage that a company has over its rivals in the same market that helps it stay competitive (Porter, 1996). The BELFOR group has an edge over the other companies because it specializes in mass restoration and services that require large scale operations with the latest technological knowhow. Consequently, the company owns powerful equipment and technological devices which allows it to do quick and quality services with short response times. The company mostly deals with large business corporations, government agencies and non-profit organization. In an effort to provide good services, they have earned a good name which allows them to make large profits and expand territory countrywide and into other nations.

The corporation offers unique services that other companies may not have the full capability to provide. This includes assessment of damage through the satellite imagery in order to determine the full extent of damage especially in cases of natural catastrophes like hurricanes and earthquakes. Other special services include semiconductor decontamination which requires special skills and equipment, which are not readily available. In the process, the company has been able to salvage very important equipment, documents and other invaluable assets belonging to the government and other organizations, hence saving these organizations from undergoing major loss of profits or data. Moreover, BELFOR is licensed to provide services at highway disasters and waste spill catastrophes which is beyond the capabilities of many restoration companies.

Through the positive reviews and recommendation, the company has been able to build a strong customer base throughout the USA and other countries that the organization has established offices or offered services. In addition to providing large scale services, the company also provides services to individuals at small scale levels, helping to save household property and saving families tons of money, including providing consolation to victims. Through the diversification and uniqueness of services, the corporation has a good chance of expanding at a world-wide scale. Besides restoration, the corporation has a chance of indulging into other services besides fire and water damage control and restoration.

The competitive advantages which include advanced technology, unique services and an established customer base are some of the factors which should be exploited to ensure that the company remains competitive in the market. The strategies must remain rare and hard to copy by other rival companies and they must be lined with a good reputation, strategic location, loyalty by customers and unique services and products. In the case of BELFOR, the corporation is known for its uniqueness in service provision due to the high technology and equipment used to perform complex and delicate tasks. This is a valuable strategy in ensuring that they stay ahead of other companies. However, the unique skills and techniques should constantly be reviewed and improved to ensure a continuous improvement in quality, which is a sure way to remain competitive.

BELFOR is also known for the provision of services at a large scale level hence popular with large business companies and government agencies. The advantage is that the company has established a reputation in the saving of lives, property and other valuable assets including important data. In order to remain competitive in this area, the company needs to specialize in a wider range of services in order to diversify customers. Otherwise other upcoming companies may also increase the range of services and equipment used hence causing BELFOR to lose its competitive advantage.

In order to maintain the loyal customers, there is need for the company to maintain the good service quality and to strive for constant improvement. One strategy of improvement is monitoring rival company activities and making sure to offer better and unique services that will keep the consumers happy. Once a good customer base is established, it is hard for other companies to undo that kind of loyalty, but still, customer loyalty should be maintained.

Opportunities

Opportunities are those positive and external factors which a company can exploit in order to remain competitive in the market (Roy, 2001). There are chances for BELFOR to establish new branches all over the globe in order to expand the scope of service provision. This is an opportunity that can be exploited in order to earn more profits, provide services globally in order to build a good name and also to gain new experiences from working in new environments. There is also a high demand for services like restoration of property from fire and water disasters which means that the market is always available for restoration of services. BELFOR can use this opportunity to expand service provision in order to establish a wider customer base. The company also retains the power to control the cost of service provision therefore they can subsidize the cost of service in order to attract more customers.

Threats

BELFOR faces threats including competition from rival companies including Insta services and Maxons group. With this kind of competition, it is easy for the company to lose customers and incur losses at times. BELFOR executives should work out ways to eliminate this threat including uniqueness of services provided and the improvement of quality of services. The substitution of restoration services with machinery poses a threat of loss of market for restoration companies. Though the services provided may be hard to automate, the innovation of machines is a threat to BELFOR and her rival companies. There further lacks regulation for customers to choose the companies to go for. Therefore, consumers may switch companies and change loyalties as they wish. The way to eliminating this threat is by establishing firm trust with the consumers.

References

Intelligence, S. G. (2017, April 11). Company Overview of BELFOR USA Group Inc. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=688879

Porter, M. E., Goold, M., & Luchs, K. (1996). From competitive advantage to corporate strategy. Managing the multibusiness company: Strategic issues for diversified groups,285, 285-314.

Roy, M. J., & Vezina, R. (2001). Environmental performance as a basis for competitive strategy: opportunities and threats. Corporate Environmental Strategy, 8(4), 339-347.