In a planned economy, there was no analysis of supply and demand, and in fact there was no assessment of product quality. These concepts were reduced to ensure the production of the planned volume of products in the approved range and with the technical and economic characteristics specified in the design task. Over the years of the planned economy, enterprise managers have taken root in the idea that the main thing is to produce, and the buyer will always be there. This led to the fact that for years Soviet enterprises produced products that were not in demand by the population.
Assortment policy or product portfolio management is one of the main concerns of the company's marketing specialists. A well-balanced product portfolio includes both products that bring stable and predictable company profits, as well as products that are not yet “tested” by the market, but promise good prospects in the future.
Companies need to regularly update their assortment matrix, as the market is constantly changing and makes new demands and expectations to market players. Consumer preferences are changing.
The formation of the manufacturer’s product portfolio is the basis of a competitive strategy. Now, many Russian companies - manufacturers of product portfolios overlap. The uniqueness of the products produced is the dream of every manufacturer.
The relevance of the chosen research topic lies in the fact that the question of the formation and management of the product portfolio arises quite often. It is very important to describe the environment in which the formation of certain portfolios takes place, and the clarification of the situation that this contributes to or hinders. If we assume that the possibilities of market participants to form a portfolio are the same, then we need to answer the question: “Why does everything happen in completely different ways?”. The generalized answer is that this process is made up of numerous parameters..
The purpose of the work is to consider the theoretical and practical aspects of the formation and management of the product portfolio of the distribution company TD Magnit LLC The purpose of the work has led to the formulation and solution of the following tasks:
1 To study the theoretical foundations of the analysis of the company's product portfolio;
2 Consider the principles and features of the formation and management of the company's product strategy;
3 Analyze the product portfolio of the object of study;
4 Develop proposals for improving the company's product strategy.
Object of study: the distribution company of alcoholic beverages LLC TD Magnit.
Subject of research: the formation and management of the company's product portfolio.
Research methods: generalization of theoretical positions, observation, analysis, “tree of goals”.
Project Management – (in accordance with the definition of the national standard ANSI PMBoK) – the area of activity in which clear objectives of the project are defined and achieved while balancing between the scope of work, resources (such as money, labor, materials, energy, space, etc.), time, quality and risk. A key factor in the success of project management is the presence of a clear predetermined plan, minimization of risks and deviations from the plan, effective change management (as opposed to process, functional management, service level management).
Figure 1 presents the project management cycle.
Figure 1 – Project management cycle (Animation: size – 135 Kb; frames – 6, repetitions – 5)
The project management methodology is reflected in project management standards. Currently there are the following types of standards:
1 International — standards that have gained international importance in the process of their development or intended for international use;
2 National — created for use within one country or received a national status in the process of its development;
3 Public —- prepared and accepted by the community of specialists;
4 Private — knowledge complexes promoted for free use by individuals, companies or institutions;
5 Corporate — developed for use within one company or within a group of related companies [4].
International standards are complete systems that include, in addition to the description of project management requirements, training, testing, auditing, consulting and other elements. A comprehensive international project management standard does not yet exist, but the following standards are best known.
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) of the American Project Management Institute (Project Management Institute — PMI).
This standard is updated approximately once every four years. One of the most common editions dates back to 2000, and the most current, fourth, version of the standard - The Guide to the PMBOK, 4th Edition – was released in late 2008. The standard was originally adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as the national standard in United States, and now gained global recognition.
The organization "TD Magnit" sells its goods throughout the territory of the DPR. The gaining of the LC market could also be promising, but this is currently difficult, because some problems arise at the border, additional documents are required. One of the distribution channels for the products of TD Magnit is regional retail chains of retailers. Among the partners of the company are: “First Republican”, “Parus”, “Sigma Land”, “Avoska”, “Glutton”, “Amstor”; "Galaxy", "YOUR shop". It also collaborates with leading restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels in the region.
Despite the active sale of alcoholic products, there is some competition in the market. For this reason, a marketing study was conducted, the purpose of which was to identify the attitude of consumers to this organization and identify the main competitors and their advantages. This study will provide an opportunity to trace the commitment of consumers of alcoholic beverages, and make a decision to improve the identified deficiencies.
In the competition policy regarding the goods, first of all, its functional purpose, reliability, durability, usability, aesthetic appearance, and other characteristics, i.e. the ability of a commodity to satisfy the aggregate needs of a buyer is better than competing commodities. The creation of such a consumer value of the product, which would include the totality of the properties of this product, as well as those accompanying it, is the most important condition for survival in the market. So, a beautiful car design with poor maintenance will not save a new car brand from failure in the market.
The manufacturer, creating a competitive product, applies various strategies. For example, he can:
To achieve the distinction of the goods of the enterprise in the eyes of the buyers from the goods of the competitors;
Choose one of the products to be produced, which is the most attractive for all buyers, and make a breakthrough in the market on this basis;
Find a new use for manufactured goods;
Find access to new markets, both with old and new products;
To carry out the modification of manufactured goods in accordance with the new tastes and needs of customers;
Regularly develop and improve the system of service maintenance of the goods sold and the sales promotion system as a whole.
The wide spread of competition under the influence of the international division of labor and scientific and technological progress encourages manufacturers to intensify the search for new competitive products and new markets for them.
In international practice, it is considered expedient to produce not one product, but their rather wide parametric range forming an assortment set.
The more extensive the parametric series and assortment sets, the higher the likelihood that the buyer will find the best purchase option. For example, they produce forklifts of the same type, but differing from each other in capacity, speed, turning radius, etc. Each consumer, taking into account the specific conditions of his work, requires certain operational parameters of the purchased forklift trucks. If the seller is able to provide them, the purchase will take place, if not - the buyer will look for another seller.
Currently, marketing activities allow enterprises to survive in a difficult economic environment. However, not all enterprises are able to apply the full range of marketing research.
In the conditions of sufficiency of goods and services on the market, the total excess of their supply over demand, the buyer fully realizes his right to choose, preferring the product that, from his point of view, has the best ratio of consumer qualities and prices at one time or another. A properly balanced product portfolio of TD Magnit LLC includes goods that are at different stages of the life cycle, which ensures continuity of the organization’s marketing activities, constant profit, and reduces the risk of not receiving the expected profit from sales of products that are at the initial stages of the life cycle. From time to time, it makes sense for a company to review its product portfolio. This review is useful once or twice a year. This situation is the main problem of the organization.
More effective methods for assessing the competitiveness of goods are those methods that are based on numbers and calculations are the same analytical. With the help they can make more accurate conclusions about the effectiveness of the assessment and which factors have a greater impact on the degree of competitiveness of the goods. Graphic methods, on the contrary, show a more abstract picture of the position of goods on the market. They define the stage of the product life cycle, but do not give exact numbers and definitions. To analyze the competitiveness of consumer goods, the “ideal point model” method is most suitable.