Thesis, Graduate (Master in Management)--University of the Philippines Mindanao, April 2010

This paper is a strategic plan prepared for Marjeck Food Products as a token of support for its active involvement in the entrepreneurial programs of the Department of Trade and Industry in Caraga Region. This does not however present a technical plan as this is only intended to provide the owners a clearer view of what is going on, inside and outside of the company, which could have great implications to the business. Basically, this paper is an assessment of Marjeck?s condition as well as an analysis of the noodle industry and its stakeholders, with the end of coming up alternative courses of actions to a specific issue. With this strategic plan, it is expected that Marjeck would be able to enhance its operating efficiency, thus improving profitability and sustainability. The framework used in this study is one introduced by Fred David as this proved to be simple and straightforward. Personal interview with the owners and employees of Marjeck was the principal means used to gather primary data, while secondary data were sourced from published materials, websites, and presentation materials in seminars and in previous Master in Management classes.Marjeck Food Products, or plainly known as Marjeck, is a BFAD (Bureau of Food and Drugs) registered noodle manufacturing company and a leading brand in Caraga Region. Its name is almost synonymous already to its product category. Noodles have been the staple foods for many Asian countries since ancient time. They come in various contents, formulations, and shapes. Since the product being produced by Marjeck is not new in the market, there was no difficulty in introducing it. However, they cannot just do business and go selling without going up against local and national competitors. Although competitors were the primary constraint to the business, there are also other obvious and sometimes out of sight reasons why the company has lagged for quite some time. Marjeck?s major goal is eventually to expand the business in terms of production capacity, sales, assets, and of course, profit. Specifically, Marjeck wish to achieve sales of P21 Million by 2014, 80% local market share (Caraga Region) and a steady annual profit growth rate of 20% within the next five years, build a noodle plant producing twice the capacity of the current plant within the next five years, become a GMP/HACCP compliant company and be able to employ 300 employees within the next five years. Internal and external scanning using the SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) revealed that Marjeck may be able to achieve those objectives through some strategic actions. Strategic options recommended by the paper are: management formalization, aggressive promotion, market penetration, diversification, strategic alliance, financial leveraging, diversification of suppliers, and physical expansion within the same location. To ensure proper implementation of the strategic plan, control systems are also being proposed. Key Result Area (KRA) is one of the tools used to evaluate and monitor progress of the implantation of the plan.