Introduction
A succession plan is critical for the survival of companies in case of unforeseen situations. The consideration helps avert company shutdowns and job losses and ensures continuity of supply chain and corporate strategies. It is also vital to reassure stakeholders to continue trusting the company. Companies whose identities cannot be separated from their founders often struggle to survive upon the demise of the owner, as was the case with Talon Investment (TI).
Strategic Challenges Faced By Talon Innovations
Erikkson’s death exposed Talon Investment to continuity, leadership, and supply chain risks. His demise happened in the early stages of the company’s revolutionizing human resource, purchasing, and manufacturing operations. Erikkson played a central role in overseeing all operations from production to marketing to the supply chain (Polacco & Mukherjee, 2017). He worked directly with suppliers and customers and was in charge of machine designing. With his death, Talon Investment’s downfall was inevitable, a situation that would cost Erikkson’s family, TI’s staff, and business partners. The new team was still under mentorship, meaning they did not know how the company ran, exposing TI to a leadership crisis. Talon Investment’s case is a classic example of how the death of founders can affect a company’s continuity by exposing it to strategic challenges.
Justifying Successors’ Decision
Erikkson’s successors must take a deliberate step to keep the company running for four significant reasons. First, Talon Investment is an established brand with loyal customers locally and internationally. Secondly, its products are differentiated through quality and excellent customer service, giving it a robust springboard in the current crisis. Besides, the company has cut a niche in the engineering sector for unique solutions, earning influential brands’ trust in Silicon Valley. Finally, Talon Investment boasts several innovation patents, giving it an edge over competitors. Therefore, despite inexperienced leadership, the company is insured against liquidation by these factors.
Supply Chain Strategies to Maintain Erikkson’s Corporate Strategy
Talon Investment successors should employ specific supply chain strategies to keep with Erikkson’s corporate strategy. Alongside differentiation, company leadership should come up with policies that would guide the planning of inventory. This would synchronize customer orders, cut delays and enhance overall supply chain efficiency. Successors should also consider hiring sales and marketing talent for public relations purposes. The idea is to continue the founder’s focus strategy that sought to identify direct customers’ needs. As for Talon Investment’s international strategy, the company should consider joint ventures and later subsidiaries to replace exports. The move will improve the turnaround time of orders from international customers and reduce distribution costs while keeping Erikkson’s corporate strategy.
Supply Chain Strategies for Sustained Growth
Talon Investment must position itself for sustained growth by adopting sound supply chain strategies. Successors should drive the company towards cost-effective internationalization strategies such as opening manufacturing plants near customers. This means TI should have subsidiaries in a country like China, where Singapore and Korean markets can be accessed and supplied promptly. Besides, it would be prudent for the company to digitize its supply chain operations to help in close monitoring and easy operationalization of functions. Such a strategy would improve company-stakeholder processes, thus ensuring seamless and sustained growth. Therefore, Talon Investment has to replace its international strategy of exports with opening manufacturing plants near customers and digitizing the supply chain process.
Conclusion
In summary, internal and external factors affect a company’s overall operations. The death of Erikkson, founder of TI, was an internal factor that threatened the firm’s survival. External factors included fear from stakeholders that Erikkson’s death would expose TI to business risks. Successors should leverage TI’s excellent history of precision machining, excellent customer service, and patented innovation to keep the company running. Talon Investment should consider opening subsidiaries in Asia and digitizing its supply chain for sustainable growth.
Reference
Polacco, A., & Mukherjee, K. (2017). Talon Innovations: How should lean supply-chain strategy aligns with corporate strategy? Journal of Critical Incidents, 10, 113-115