Xerox Corporation- Functional Level Strategy

Ryan R. Montenid November 15, 2014

Strategic Management Dr. Gloria Chavez

Building Competitive Advantage through Functional-Level Strategies: Xerox Corporation

1. Identify how the changes that Xerox undertook after 1980, helped the company to improve its efficiency, quality, innovation and customer responsiveness.

Xerox underwent series of improvement after its 1980 downfall. First, Xerox had changed its waste management by decreasing the number of defective products and services, thus promotes efficiency. To cope with the increasing reject rate products, Xerox consolidated its worldwide supply base which helped the company simplified the purchasing process, achieved economies of scale in production in which savings could be passed on to Xerox in the form of lower prices and improved its suppliers relationship by eliminating them. Second, Xerox developed its employees’ knowledge and skills through the various leadership training programs. The company utilized the learning effect and/or domino effect approach as the organization trained its personnel from the top-management level down to factory floor and cascaded throughout the organization worldwide. Third, the firm began to reduce its product development process which helped Xerox managed its worldwide services (including product design, manufacturing, distribution, component suppliers and customer service). Through the reduction in development cycle of its products, the firm was able to saved costs. Lastly, Xerox monitored its inventory management as the firm formed its Central Logistics and Assets Management which facilitated the reduction of excess inventory versus customer demand. These developmental changes improved the performance of Xerox as a whole.

2. To what extent were the changes undertaken by Xerox after 1980 the result of functions working together to achieve common goal?

Xerox Corporation had utilized the functional-level strategy to achieve its corporate...