There are different companies in the globe and each produces different products. Though some companies may be dealing with similar products or services, they are differentiated. Furthermore, companies have different policies hence differentials in operation. Supply chain map is the different levels that a product goes through before reaching the market or final users.
This paper is a supply chain paper with main focus on Great Lakes Chemical Company. It highlights the company history, supply chain configuration, labeling, marketing channel, marketing decisions, plant location, transportation modes, and customer service and inventory management of the company among others.
Great Lakes Chemical Company is a production, research, distribution and sales company that deal with production of specialty chemicals. Specialty chemicals are mainly used for spa purification of water and pool systems, fire retardants and suppressants, polymers and other applications. The company has been part of Chemtura Corporation since 2005. The company was formed in 1936 with an aim of bromine extraction in Michigan from brine deposits.
It was later acquired in 1948 by McClanahan Oil and named Great Lakes and Chemical Company. However, in 1960, the company shifted its concentration from gas and oil and instead concentrated on production and research of bromine chemicals. It was during this time that the company assumed its name, Great Lakes Chemical Corporation and established the biggest bromine plant globally at southern Arkansas (Abram, 2009).
The company had a growth strategy and acquired several small companies leading to its increased market share in the global market. After acquiring several companies such as BioLab among others, the company expanded and emerged among the largest companies in the global market, and settled on West Lafayette, Indiana as the location for its headquarter. Acquisition of small companies in the industry necessitated production of diverse products in the chemical industry by the company.
Though the company achieved its growth objective, it was forced to merge with other large companies to increase their market share and production competency. In 2005, the company merged with Crompton Corporation and formed Chemtura Corporation hence emerged as the leading chemical production, research and distributing company not only in the United States but globally (Ferguson, 2010).
Great Lakes Chemical Corporation has its plant at Arkansas, El Dorado. It supplies the global market because it is recognized globally due to products and services it offers to its customers. Furthermore, the prices of its products varies in different countries but equal to the dollar value because it mainly trades in United Sates dollar. The company also uses the small companies it acquired while growing to distribute its products to different areas and regions globally.
However, the products of the company have mainly dominated the European market. Since the company supplies the global market, it uses different modes of transportation to ensure their products are readily available in the market depending with the market distance. It mainly uses water and air transport to reach markets outside Indiana State and railway and road to reach markets within the Indiana State and the entire United States (Patrice, 2004).
Marketing strategies and promotional activities of the company have also advanced due to technological advancement and emergence of E-commerce. The company also conducts business online and is one of the companies that have benefited from e-commerce in the business world. It has also created a website that is operational and can be accessed by different customers from different countries in the globe. The company also reaches its customers through e-mail and other business advertising agencies and sites online.
Furthermore, it reaches it customers through direct contact while conducting promotional activities. Great Lakes Chemical Corporation mainly uses GLK in most of their produced products as label. The label GLK is commonly used by the company at the foreign exchange market.
Products produced by the company are mainly chemicals and some are harmful to the environment and may lead to environmental degradation if precautionary measures are not taken. However, the company educates its customers on how to dispose off their products after use and how to use them to ensure environmental safety (Abram, 2009).
Great Lakes Chemical Corporation supplies the global market hence has distributors and warehouses globally distributed. It relies on companies it acquired and merged with to distribute and store its produced products before availing them in the respective markets. Though the company has different distributors, it has an established centralized customer care services to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain existing customers while attracting potential clients.
Great Lakes Chemical Corporation is also considered among the largest chemical producing companies in the global market. It produces in bulk but has maintained quality of its products. The company not only produces chemical products but also conducts research before deciding on a product to manufacture.
Continued research has enabled the company to maintain production of quality products hence create brand loyalty. It has also enabled the company to manage production of quality products and offer quality services to the customers because they are aware of the customers’ needs and changing market trends (Patrice, 2004).
References
Abram, D. (2009). Great Lakes Chemical Corporation. Indiana: Pearson Education.
Ferguson, M. (2010). Chemtura Corporation: Great Lakes Chemical Corporation. New Jersey: Treason Publishers.
Patrice, A. (2004). Chemical companies: Great Lakes Chemical Corporation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.