Thesis, Graduate (Master in Management)--University of the Philippines Mindanao, April 2015.

Confidential

Agway Chemicals Corporation has been in the business for 29 years. It is engaged in the trading industry as an area distributor of agricultural chemicals and fertilizers. It started in 1986 as a single proprietorship and originated in Davao City. ACC has grown as one of the major distributor in Davao Region and expanded the operation in the Visayas area since 2005. The company has an average annual growth rate of 17.4% over the last five years. Despite the remarkable growth rate, the fluctuating revenue signifies an unstable financial condition. This could be attributed in the absence of strategic planning. Fr several years, ACC has been complacent only in the geographical areas it already covered and did not envision to expand in other potential regions. Strategic planning is widely practiced today in the business world. However, in a conservative family owned business, strategic planning was not generally believed to be the answer for all the business issues. When the company acknowledged that intensity of rivalry has tightened, it was then realized that ACC must have a good strategic plan to compete successfully. The purpose of this is for ACC to be able to exploit and create new opportunities and gain competitive advantage for the future. The practical approach of formulating, implementing and evaluating strategies applicable for ACC is guided by the conceptual framework of comprehensive strategic-management model adapted from David (2011). Chapter 1 of this paper discusses the corporate background and general performance review of ACC. By this chapter gives a clear picture of the condition of the business over the past five years. Chapter 2 presents the analysis of the external environment of ACC. It provides an overview of the trading industry of chemicals and fertilizers in global, national and regional situationer. Although there has been an increasing production of agricultural crops in the country however, the geographic market captured by ACC is highly saturated and the rivalry among competing firms also tightened. The very nature of the external audit is to provide information to fully identify the opportunities that could benefit ACC and the threats that should be avoided. Chapter 3 shows an overview of the internal environment of ACC. It revealed that the accessibility and strategic location of its branches is a major advantage of ACC. The maximization of distribution channels and the competitive pricing are two of the positive features of ACC. Further analysis of the internal environment divulges several strengths and weaknesses of the company. Chapter 4 presents a review of the vision and mission statements of the company. ACC has existing vision and mission statements for years but the importance of these has not yet been realized. By year 2011, the corporate objectives were revised but it did not capture the specific idea of what the company would like to achieve. This paper suggests that the revised statement is, "Agway Chemicals Corporation's vision is to be recognized as the premier distributor of agricultural pesticides and fertilizers in the entire Philippines." In addition, the proposed mission statements are: continue to improve what is vital to the future of our agricultural crop production clients by providing quality products and services, constantly deliver positive operating results and industry leading earnings, act as an ambassador in the promotion of good agricultural practices by providing appropriate standards for the safe handling and responsible use of fertilizers and pesticides through stewardship, provide growth and enrichment opportunities to our employees and maximize the usage of appropriate technologies. With the recommended vision and mission statements, it gives the employees the idea on how they should perform in the company. Chapter 5 of this paper presents the strategy proposal. The strategic options will address the issues and problems raised in this paper. This chapter focuses on evaluating and generating alternative strategies as well as selecting the strategies to pursue. Chapter 6 is composed of the implementing programs for the integrated strategy. This chapter also illustrates the financial projections to bring in a quantitative result of the financial impact of the strategy. Chapter 7 shows the strategic control and evaluation that is very vital in the strategic management process.