Situation analysis is done through SWOT analysis where the company analyses the strength, weakness, threats and opportunities of the company. SWOT analysis is a proven management framework that enables a brand, such as Linde Group, to benchmark their performance and business in comparison to their competitors. The skimming strategy of choice will need clear communication of the basis for differentiation and the way such differentiation explains the extra price (Hegewisch et al. 2019). Linde Group is one of the leading brands in the chemicals sector and industrial products.
The Linde Group has a two-part management structure. The supervisory structure is composed of the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board. The Supervisory Board and Executive Board are liable for the interests of shareholders and for the company’s welfare. Linde demonstrated resilience in the year 2020, and 2021 proved the ability of the company to leverage the economic recovery. The sales climbed to 13 per cent (Ai-ris et al. 2021).
i) Business Level Strategies
The business level strategies include talent management, an inclusive culture, training and development, accountability,
ii) Corporate Level Strategies
The corporate-level strategies include gaining an understanding of the company and the factors that influence their strategies. Tracking the strategic initiatives of the company as well as the latest corporate actions and news are important. Assisting Linde PLC as a supplier, vendor, and prospective partner is important. Supporting the sales activities through understanding the businesses of the customers' businesses Keeping up to date on the prospects, strategy, and structure of Linde is important (Gold et al. 2021).
Competitive analysis is done to understand the market share and relative positioning of the direct and indirect competitors of the company. The perks include bonuses, health insurance, flexible hours, seminars, a gym program, study courses, etc. that are being provided by the company.
Strengths |
The strengths of the company include its wide presence, extensive gas product line extension, restructuring programme for reducing the cost by 550 million, wide presence, R&D expenses, sustainability, and digital distribution channels (Christin Seidel and Kromer 2019). |
Weaknesses |
The weaknesses include a lack of diversification and attrition, falling management efficiency and lack of diversification (Fenaux et al. 2019). |
Opportunities |
The opportunities include a merger with Praxair, technology and analysis, growth in healthcare sectors, diversification like energy generation, increased climate protection efforts, and technology and analysis (Hegewisch et al. 2019). |
Threats |
The threats include government regulation and reform and safety regulations (Gold et al. 2021). |
Political Factors |
The political factors include sector regulations and dependence in the government and spending budget (Fenaux et al. 2019). |
Economic Factors |
The economic factors include currency fluctuation, income distribution, and economic performance and GDP growth. |
Social Factors |
The social factors include employee welfare, involving employees, and work-life balance |
Technological Factors |
The technological factors include innovative ways of producing gases like carbon dioxide and research and development (Gold et al. 2021). |
Legal Factors |
The legal factors include environmental laws, labour laws, financial regulation, and safety regulation (Hegewisch et al. 2019). |
Environmental Factors |
The environmental factors include the efficient use of water, energy, and climate production; the efficient use of resources; the efficient use of water; and the efforts of the government for climate change and climate protection (Christin Seidel and Kromer 2019). |
(i) Demographic Characteristics of the Market
The company is dominated by men. There are 30% of women and 70% of men working as Linde employees.
ii) Demographic Characteristics of the Market
After getting information regarding the demographics of Linde, it was found that Linde has 200 employees. There are 30% of women and 70% of men working as Linde employees, implying that the company is dominated by men. At Linde, the most common ethnicity is white (58%), followed by 15% Asian, and 11% of Linde Engineering employees are black or African American. At Linde, the average employee makes $73,512 per year. Linde employees are likely to be Democratic Party members. The employees at Linde On average, employees stay with the company for 6.3 years (Fenaux et al. 2019).
iii) Psychological Characteristics of the Market
The core values of the company include being client-centric, having integrity, diversity, intellectual honesty, and collaborating.
iv) Behaviours of the Target Market
The company applies a fiduciary mind-set to make sure that everything that is done every day is about delivering a better solution for the clients. The company aims to recruit, develop, mentor, and retain professionals that display the highest professional level as well as personal integrity. The company is most interested in fostering a cooperative, collegial, and productive work environment in which each of us demonstrates the highest levels of professionalism and respect (Christin Seidel and Kromer 2019).
v) Strategies Appealing to Market
There are 4 strategic pillars for operationalize diversity and inclusion. Talent management aims to embed diversity and inclusion in HR policies and processes, which involve recruiting, talent sourcing, performance, development, and benefits.
The inclusive culture aims to foster an environment where differences are leveraged and valued to enhance a sense of belonging and increase the performance of the employees. Examples include celebrating global heritage days as well as employee resource groups (Hegewisch et al. 2019). The training and development include aim to enhance managerial capabilities for providing employees with equal develop opportunities and grow in the workplace. Examples include bimonthly inclusion boosts and unconscious bias. Accountabilities aim to drive accountability and business ownership for inclusion and diversity through annual plan development as well as quarterly tracking and reporting throughout the key businesses and functions (Gold et al. 2021).
Linde's digital strategy is slowly taking shape. A year after the opening of the digital base camp on the Linde premises, the first results were flowing in a virtual reality application for plant personnel training. With the handheld controllers and VR goggles, users could beam themselves in the plant’s 3D model, where they could walk around, inspect compressors, and get detailed information on all tests and their functions. The second project is the Linde Plantserv Portal, which will revolutionise spare parts procurement. Further projects are in the pipeline (Hegewisch et al. 2019).
ii) Pricing Strategy
The pricing strategy will focus on setting the payment period, discount, credit terms, and list price. If the Linde decides to choose the penetration strategy price it needs to set price that is lower than competitors. The company will be able to win the discounted pricing. Management must be aware of the potential for retaliation in the form of an undesired price war. The skimming strategy of choice will need clear communication of the basis for differentiation and the way such differentiation explains the extra price (Hegewisch et al. 2019).
iii) Promotional/Advertising Plan
The promotion strategy includes direct selling or high-profile advertising.
i) 4Ps’ comparisons with competitors
ii) Product
The company develops product designs that are unique and have features that stand out in the competitive market. The factors that need to be considered for developing the product strategy are variety, quality, packaging, features, augmented services, and brand name (Vojdeman et al. 2019).
iii) Price
If the company decides to choose the penetration strategy price it needs to set prce that is lower than competitors. The company will be able to win the discounted pricing. Management must be aware of the potential for retaliation in the form of an undesired price war. The skimming strategy of choice will need clear communication of the basis for differentiation and the way such differentiation explains the extra price (Kirby and Linde 2020).
iv) Place
The company should decide whether it wants to make the product available to the customers that are being served through channels or whether they require a distribution partner to serve their needs. The company needs to decide if the distribution will be indirect or direct. It must also decide if it is interested in a traditional brick-and-mortar distribution network, online distribution, or a combination of both (Hegewisch et al. 2019).
v) Promotion
The promotion plan includes clearly defining the unique selling propositions as well as understanding the reason for the needs of the customer regarding the product and their difference with the alternatives, the comp ay will Craft the message content and evaluate the way it will help customers to create a clear image of the product being offered. TV advertising will allow the company to increase brand awareness, target the mass market, and increase brand recall (Lind et al. 2019).
vi) Comparisons of Strength with competitors
The strengths of the company include its wide presence, extensive gas product line extension, restructuring programme for reducing the cost by 550 million, wide presence, R&D expenses, sustainability, and digital distribution channels (Vojdeman et al. 2019).
vii) Comparisons of Weakness with competitors
The weaknesses include a lack of diversification and attrition. falling management efficiency and lack of diversification (Vojdeman et al. 2019).
viii) Organization’s Competitive Advantage
In 2019, Linde’s sales have doubled due to Praxair's merger. Before the merger, sales grew steadily because of the strong demand for industrial gases, which pushed sales up by 40% in eight years before the merger, which translates to a healthy growth rate of 4.5% annually. The company is will be growing sales in 2021 onward at mid-single digits. The growth will be fuelled with new projects growing demand and coming online especially in Asia (Lind et al. 2019).