Univar VRIO / VRIN Analysis | Assignment Help

What is VRIO / VRIN Analysis ?

VRIO stands for – Value of the resource, Rareness of the resource, Imitation Risk, and Organizational Competence.

VRIO is a resource focused strategic analysis tool. To build a sustainable competitive advantage the resources that –casename— needs to be valuable, rare, and difficult to imitate. Secondly the –casename— needs to possess capabilities, organizational structure, and culture to optimize the available resources usage. VRIO analysis can help organizations such as Univar to do better resource allocation and build a defensible value and supply chain.

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What is a Valuable Resource for Univar? Defining Valuable in VRIO

A resource or capability is considered valuable for Univar , if it allows the Univar to exploit opportunities or negate threats emerging out of both the micro business environment and the macro environment. If a resource does not allow Univar to minimize threats or exploit opportunities, than it doesn't contribute signficantly to building a sustainable competitive advantage for Univar.

What are Rare Resources for Univar? Defining Rare in VRIO

In an industry that Univar operates in, valuable resources are held by number of competitors. So valuable resources themselves don’t provide a sustainable competitive advantage. Univar require rare resources to compete in the industry. If Univar don’t have rare resources that are required to succeed in the industry then Univar won’t be able to compete successfully in the marketplace. Secondly holding rare resources can provide Univar competitive advantage against players that don’t have those rare resources. HBR Case Study Solution

What is a Inimitable (Difficult to Immitate) Resource for Univar? Defining Inimitable in VRIO

A valuable and rare resource can provide a competitive advantage to Univar for certain period of time as all the competitors are going to try to imitate or replicate that resource. A sustained competitive advantage emerges, if the resource is difficult to imitate by the competitors. Univar can create inmitability by innovating on the product side, reducing pain points on service delivery, and having an effective post sales servicing strategy. Check out the SWOT analysis of Univar

What is a Organization for Univar? Defining Organization in VRIO

Even if the Univar has all the valuable resources that are both rare and difficult to imitate, it won’t automatically result into a sustainable competitive advantage. The key to build the sustainable competitive advantage is to have organizational capabilities, expertise, and structure to exploit the resources. If Univar is not organized based on its strengths then it won’t able to exploit all the resources that it possesses.

Resources	Value	Rare	Imitation	Organization	Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the E-Commerce Space for Univar - using Present IT Capabilities	Yes, the e-commerce space is rapidly growing and Univar can exploit the emerging opportunities	No, most of the competitors are investing in IT to enter the space	The AI and inhouse analytics can be difficult to imitate	It is just the start for the organization	In the long run it can provide sustainable competitive advantage
Product Portfolio and Synergy among Various Product Lines of Univar	Yes, it is valuable in the industry given the various segmentations & consumer preferences.	Most of the competitors are trying to enter the lucrative segments	Can be imitated by the competitors	The firm has used it to good effect, details can be found in case exhibit	Provide short term competitive advantage but requires constant innovation to sustain
Alignment of Activities with Univar Corporate Strategy	Yes	No	Each of the firm has its own strategy	Yes, company has organizational skills to extract the maximum out of it.	Still lots of potential to build on it
Distribution and Logistics Costs Competitiveness	Yes, as it helps Univar in delivering lower costs	No	Can be imitated by competitors of Univar but it is difficult	Yes	Medium to Long Term Competitive Advantage
Marketing Expertise within Univar	Yes, firms are competing based on differentiation in the industry	No, as most of the competitors also have good marketing departments and expertise	Pricing strategies of Univar are often matched by competitors	Yes, Univar is leveraging both its inhouse marketing department and external expertise	Temporary Competitive Advantage
Opportunities in the Adjacent Industries that Univar can exploit & New Resources Required to Enter those Industries	Can be valuable as they will create new revenue streams	No	Can be imitated by competitors	All the capabilities of the organization are not fully utilized yet	Has potential
Customer Community of Univar	Yes, as customers are co-creating products	Yes, the Univar has able to build a special relationship with its customers	It is very difficult for Univar competitors to imitate the culture and community dedication	Going by the data, there is still a lot of upside in building on Univar customers community ecosystem	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Talent to Manage Regulatory and Legal Obligations	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Yes	Not critical factor
Ability to Attract Talent in Various Local & Global Markets	Yes, Univar strategy is built on successful innovation and localization of products	Yes, as talent is critical to firm's growth	Difficult to imitate for the current competitors of Univar	To a large extent yes	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Global and Local Presence of Univar	Yes, as it diversify the revenue streams and isolate company's balance sheet from economic cycles	Yes	Can be imitated by competitors of Univar but at a relatively high cost	Yes, it is one of the most diversified companies in its industry	Providing Strong Competitive Advantage
Pricing Strategies of Univar	Yes, Univar has sound pricing strategies	No	Pricing strategies are regularly imitated in the industry	Yes, firm has a pricing analytics engine	It can only provide Univar with a Temporary Competitive Advantage
Access to Cheap Capital for Univar	Yes, as a leading player in the industry and current macro economic conditions, Univar has access to cheap capital	No	Can be imitated by the competitors of Univar	Not been totally exploited	Not significant in creating competitive advantage
Univar Customer Network and Loyalty	Yes, 23% of the customers contribute to more than 84% of the sales revenue	Yes, firm has invested to build a strong customer loyalty	Has been tried by competitors but none of them are as successful as Univar	Univar is leveraging the customer loyalty to good effect	Provide Univar medium term competitive advantage
Sales Force and Channel Management of Univar	Yes	No	Can be imitated by competitors	Still there is lot of potential to utilize the excellent sales force	Can provide Univar sustainable competitive advantage. Potential is certainly there.

Univar SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, Weighted SWOT Case Study Solution & Analysis

Books and References

Ahir Gopaldas and Anton Siebert (2022 July August) "What You’re Getting Wrong About Customer Journeys", Harvard Business Review , 92
Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Taran Swan (2021) "Drive Innovation with Better Decision-Making", Harvard Business Review 86
Dyer, J. H., & Hatch, N. (2004). Using Supplier Networks to Learn Faster. Sloan Management Review, 45(3), 57–63
Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99–120
Dyer, J. H., Kale, P., & Singh, H. (2004, July–August). When to ally and when to acquire. Harvard Business Review, 109–115