Operations strategy at ACC

Summary: This case study intends to highlight the inter-linkages between strategy and operations in the cement industry. For the purpose of analysing these linkages, we start out with the evolution of the industry since its inception and how regulatory pressures have resulted in the competitive position that is prevalent in its market. We then look at the strategic intentions of ACC and what it needs to do to achieve this objective. For doing so, we break down the entire value chain in the cement industry into distinct operational areas i.e. sourcing, manufacturing and distributing. In each of these areas we identify the activities that a cement company needs to perform to ensure that its operations are efficient and its competitive position is preserved. At the outset we have identified the following activities for analysis: Sourcing Acquisition of raw materials like limestone which are primarily owned by the government Modes of transport used to ship these raw materials to the manufacturing site Manufacturing Location of the plants to balance the trade-off between costs and responsiveness Availability of raw materials and other resources like land, coal, water etc. Capacities at the plants Variety of products at the plant and the technical competency required Distribution Infrastructure availability such as roads, rail etc. Modes of distribution adopted by the company

Based on the activities mentioned above, we will look to identify the high impact operational areas i.e. the activities that have the greatest bearing on the companys ability to meet its objectives. We will do a comparative analysis of the strategies that firms in the cement sector adopt in each of these areas. We will then look to benchmark the practices at ACC with those used in the industry. We will try to identify the reasons for ACC being able to achieve its objectives and also reasons for it not being able to meet some of its objectives. Finally, we will perform a gap analysis to identify the improvements that ACC can make in its operations to further improve its operational and market performance. Methodology: The methodology we intend to adopt involves a mix of primary and secondary research on the cement sector as a whole and some of the companies within the sector. For the purpose of analysing the evolution of the industry, we will be using secondary sources. In determining the strategic intentions of ACC, we will be using a mix of primary research and

secondary research from the companys annual reports and past press releases. The identification of the high impact operational activities will be done based mainly on the primary research but will also involve extensive of the literature from previous cases and articles. Benchmarking of the industry practices in these operational domains and identifying gaps in the companies operational strategies will be based mainly on secondary research and the inferences that are drawn from the above analysis.