ROSEL CONDE KRISTEL AYLIN

2023 JANUARY 10TH

The Art of War and MNE Strategy

The Art of War is a work by Chinese General Sun Tzu that was conceived as a war manual,
but it is also a treatise on strategies and tactics that would help leaders understand the roots
of any conflict. Each of the guidelines in the
manual can be applied to the business,
management or marketing strategies of a
company.

One of the most important multinational

companies in Mexico is the Grupo Bimbo, which
is established in 33 different countries from
America, Europe, Asia and Africa. This
company has over 134 thousand employees, 196
factories, 3 million shops, and a distribution
route of 57 thousand around the world. At the same time, the company has over 100 brands
and 13 mil diverse products.

Grupo Bimbo began operations in Mexico on

December 2, 1945, with the official name of
Panificación Bimbo, S.A. The company began with
34 employees,14 selling white box bread (large and
small), toasted bread, and black bread , wrapped in
cellophane. Lorenzo Servitje Sendra together with
José T. Mata, Jaime Sendra Grimau, Jaime Jorba
Sendra and Alfonso Velasco were the partners who
started this baking company.

The name Bimbo was chosen among other candidates such as PanRex, Pan NSE (for
Nutritivo Sabroso y Económico), Sabrosoy, Pan Lirio and Pan Azteca. Some time later the
founders learned that Bimbo is also the colloquial way in which Italians refer to they tell
children (shortened from bambino) and that in China the phoneme to designate bread is
almost identical to the name of the brand.

Similarly, the brand's ambassador, the Bimbo Bear, was born in 1945, with the participation
of the founding partners.t all began with the drawing of a bear on a Christmas card that
came to Jaime Jorba. Anita Mata, wife of Jaime Sendra, was the one who added her
characteristic features, which are the hat, the apron and the bread under her arm.Finally,
Alfonso Velasco arranged the shape of the nose to complete this character that represents
cleanliness, whiteness and softness

In its early years, Grupo Bimbo began to position itself in the taste of Mexican families
thanks to the quality of its products; by 1948 it already had nine different varieties, among
which white bread, toasted bread, black bread, sweet bread, buns and pancakes stand out.
Thanks to this growth in production, in 1949 the first foreign agency was opened in the
Mexican state from Puebla.

By the 1950s, Grupo Bimbo brought its products to more people with the "38," a vehicle
with speakers, record players, and microphones. In the same way, shortly after the variety of
bread was extended to Donas del Osito, Bimbollos, Medias Noches and Colchones.

When it was 10 years old in 1955, Grupo Bimbo already had 700 employees and 140
vehicles, which were complemented, in 1956, with the opening of the Bimbo de Occidente
(Guadalajara) factory, with Roberto Servitje, as General Director; and with the arrival in
individual packaging of the Gansito, a cake covered in chocolate, filled with cream and
strawberry jam in 1958.

At the beginning of a new decade, Grupo Bimbo consolidated itself as the largest bakery
company in the world, by acquiring Sara Lee North American Fresh Bakery, in the United

 States, Fargo in Argentina and Dulces Vero in Mexic and Bimbo Iberia in Spain and
Portugal in 2011. A year later, the company completed its most important conversion to
renewable energy with the inauguration of the Piedra Larga Wind Farm, which supplies the
Group with clean electricity to several of its facilities in Mexico and its fleet of electric
cars , the largest in Mexico and one of the largest in Latin America.

The following years, Grupo Bimbo acquired several companies to boost its global growth
strategy; some of the most prominent are: Canada Bread (Canada - United Kingdom) and
Supan (Ecuador) in 2014; Vachon (Canada) in 2015; as well as Panettiere (Colombia),
General Mills (Argentina), Hazpan (Mexico) and Panrico S.A.U. (Spain and Portugal) in
2016.

In 2017, Grupo Bimbo began its foray into Africa with the acquisition of Grupo Adghal in
Morocco; in Asia it continues to grow with the purchase of 65% of the shares of Ready
India Private Limited (Ready Roti) and acquires East Balt, a one of the largest foodservice
companies with a presence in China, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Morocco, Nigeria,
Russia, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Korea, South Korea, the
Philippines, Indonesia, Switzerland, Austria , Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United
States. In terms of brands, that year Bays English Muffins (United States) and Stonemill
Bakery (Canada) were added to its catalog to boost its global growth strategy.

In 2018, the company continued its expansion: it completed the purchase of the Nutra Bien
brands in Chile; El Paisa in Colombia, to grow in South America; and Grupo Mankattan, a
leading player in the baking industry in China, which boosted its growth in the fast food
channel in the Asian country. This same year, Grupo Bimbo joined the RE100 Pact,
committing itself that, by 2025, 100% of the electrical energy it uses in its global operations
comes from renewable sources It also became the first Mexican company to issue
Certificates of Clean Energy for Distributed Generation

Lastly, in 2019 it promoted multiple programs for the community such as: Good
Neighbor,68 We Reforest Mexico6 and Clean Mexico. Among them, the campaign Without

.​
.​

o​

Leaving a Footprint stands out, with which Grupo Bimbo committed that 100% of its
packaging be recyclable, biodegradable and/or compostable by 2025.

Similarly, that year Grupo Bimbo was recognized as one of the 500 most important
companies in Mexico and added Julitas to the brand of empanadas (Expansión Magazine);
one of the 100 most attractive employers (Universum consultancy), one of the companies
with the best reputation in Mexico and Colombia (Merco 2019) and received the
Sustainability Award from Baking & Snack magazine

Finally, in February 2020, Grupo Bimbo expanded its operations and arrived in Kazakhstan.
Through Bimbo QSR, the strategic association agreement was signed with Food Town, the
exclusive supplier of buns and McDonald's franchisee in that country. With this agreement,
Grupo Bimbo expanded to 33 countries

The general strategy of Grupo Bimbo is based on its corporate mission, that is, on the
development of the value of its brands and fundamentally on the commitment to be a highly
productive and fully human company, as well as innovative, oriented to the total satisfaction
of its customers. clients and their consumers and as a fundamental aspect, to be an
international leader in the baking industry with a long-term vision.

To talk about the concept of strategy, and the way in which it has evolved over time, the
year 300 AD must be taken as the beginning or initial reference, with the book by Sun Tzu,
where based on the experiences lived in ancient military campaigns, advice is given,
recommendations on how to wage war, organize the troops, the use of weapons, as well as
understanding the effect of the geographical situation and the application of politics in war.

Sun Tzu gives us a complete and analyzed panorama of what war means, this panorama
would be equivalent to creating a good business plan to study and have a complete analysis
of the environment, achieve a good introduction of your product, good or service that is
wanted. position in the market.

.​

At the beginning of the forties, the production manager of El Molino, now Bimbo,
envisioned a great opportunity in the industrial production of box or sliced bread and the
manager of the pastry shop spoke. Both began plans to manufacture a bread worthy of the
modern and thriving Mexico of those years.

Regarding the organizational structure, a correct regulation is required between ranks and
work responsibilities based on discipline. One of the famous phrases of the book is
presented in this chapter "The Art of War based on Deception" so, when entering the market,
you can appear inactive even though you will be fully prepared to launch, leaving your
opponents behind. competitors.

The insistence to grow was something that could not be avoided, the need is satisfied
through territorial expansion. Plants were opened in all the places that were deemed
necessary because they always sought to give the best to the customer.

When the distribution of the plan began, it was marketed only in the capital of Mexico, the
current city of Mexico. Later routes began that went to the states of Hidalgo, Veracruz and
Morelos. At first, these routes brought many losses, but they attracted a market, which is
why they were encouraged to continue. After so much effort they managed to obtain the
success they have today.

Being already in battle, all the factors must be identified to start with a business plan,
stimulate and facilitate exchanges between suppliers, intermediaries and of course,
consumers to satisfy their specific needs in terms of goods. and services.

Bimbo has adapted the product portfolio and the presentations based on the different
distribution channels, such as convenience stores, supermarkets and traditional stores.

The company seeks to satisfy the customer one hundred percent and one way to achieve this
is to be close to him, so that the products are fresher and ready as soon as they are

requested. In all of its lines, Bimbo takes special care in providing hygienic, fresh, delicious
products with high nutritional value.

To strengthen Bimbo's mission and general strategy, there are particular strategies that are
described below:

• Quality and price

• Customer service
• Brand value development
• Support for strategic inputs
• Growth and consolidation of international operations
• product diversification
• Certification, improvement and process innovation
• Social strategy

Bimbo's desire to grow became an obsession, which was satisfied through territorial
expansion. Plants were opened where necessary, always looking to grow to serve all
customers.

Currently, its presence has expanded to 33 countries around the world, in which it has a
significant market share. The 4 continents where its 197 plants and more than 3.1 million
points of sale are located are distributed as follows:

AMERICA:
-North America: Mexico, United States and Canada.
-Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
-South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and
Venezuela.

EUROPE: Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine and the UK.

 ASIA: China, South Korea, India, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.

AFRICA: Morocco and South Africa.

REFERENCES
SDPnoticias.com. «Grupo Bimbo expande operaciones a Kazajistán». SDPnoticias.com.
Consultado el 1 de julio de 2020.

«Bimbo logra 300,000 puntos de venta más en 2018». Opportimes. 14 de marzo de 2019.
Consultado el 30 de septiembre de 2019.

«Grupo Bimbo | Inicio». Grupo Bimbo. Consultado el 1 de noviembre de 2017.

«Nuestro Logo». Grupo Bimbo. 5 de julio de 2019. Consultado el 19 de marzo de 2021

«El Osito Bimbo, una herencia de Servitje». El Universal. 3 de febrero de 2017. Consultado el
13 de noviembre de 2019.

«Bimbo: el osito que en 70 años ha vendido pan a todo mundo». www.milenio.com. Consultado
el 14 de noviembre de 2019

Molina, por Aletia (3 de febrero de 2017). «La historia de Bimbo a través de sus marcas». José
Cárdenas. Consultado el 14 de noviembre de 2019.

«Conoce la historia de los productos de Bimbo». DineroenImagen. 2 de diciembre de 2015.

Consultado el 25 de noviembre de 2019

«Añoranza: así era la publicidad de Bimbo en sus inicios». Excélsior. 21 de agosto de 2019.
Consultado el 13 de diciembre de 2019

«Desde las Donas y Gansito, hasta el Duvalín: La historia de Bimbo a través de sus
marcas». www.elfinanciero.com.mx. Consultado el 13 de diciembre de 2019

Moreno Lazaro, Javier. «SPANISH EMIGRATION AND THE SETTING-UP OF A GREAT

COMPANY IN MEXICO: BIMBO, 1903-2008». Facultad de Economía de la UNAM
(México)

bakeryandsnacks.com. «Grupo Bimbo: One of the world’s most ethical companies baking
bread for billions the world over». bakeryandsnacks.com. Consultado el 20 de diciembre de
2019.

Mm m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m