Thesis (Master in Management) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, April 2019

MM Company is an auto parts hardware situated in Davao City and owned by Mr. Mario Palazuelo. It is engaged in both retail and wholesale of hardware, auto parts focusing on Multicab parts, and other light accessories of vehicles. Although the entity has been operating since 1998, its systems of policies and company practices still need major improvements. It has some issues in the processes of daily operations. Aside from the limitations caused by the deficiencies of the different managerial functions, it's purely manual operations make it difficult for the company to address inefficiencies. The lack of computer system make it difficult for the company to maximize resources and cut down costs. At the same time, this has also limited the company in formulating strategies for its development. In addition, the company is currently facing a threat in relation to the changing needs of the market. Therefore, there is a need to have a plan on how to address these problems caused by both internal and external environment of MM Company. With this, a strategic plan was formulated in order to not only sustain, but also improve the company's position in the market. The Strategic Management Framework of Fred David (2011) was used as the conceptual framework of this plan. To begin with, STEEP Analysis was performed in order to assess the external environment of MM Company, and was followed by the assessment of its different managerial functions. Based on the analyses made, the company needs to act fast in order to adapt to the changing needs of the market. However, it has a difficulty in making a move due to the heavy operational inefficiency the company is experiencing. Through the SPACE, SWOT, and QSPM matrices, three generic strategies were identified and ranked based on the level of priority. The strategies focus on the improvement of operational efficiency, concentric diversification and as well as expansion. In this way, the company is able to respond to both the internal and external factors the company is involved with. In order to ensure the feasibility of the implementation of the proposed strategies, financial projections for five years were made. Furthermore, initiatives were delegated on the key managers of the company. The core team members for the implementation of this plan include the Proprietor, General Manager, Operations Manager and Finance Officer. Finally, a monitoring and evaluation system is also put in place, which is the balanced scorecard, in order to minimize, if not to eliminate deviations. As a result of implementing the strategies, customer retention is improved and a constant increase in the number of new customers is expected. The number of customers entertained per day will increase and there will be lesser waiting time for customers. Also, the company will be more efficient as evidenced by the smooth running operations. The response done by the company towards its internal and external environment will thus lead to the progressive increase of the company's annual revenues