Winds of Change at Measurement Equipment Supply Company, Inc

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1. The most critical threats are from its market. The suppliers want to sell their products directly to the final customers and by-pass Measurement Equipment Co. Inc. The other threats are that the government energy regulation policy may reduce the demand for the oil and gas industry. At the same time, the government agencies provide financial support to fuel alternatives (a). The impact is that the oil and gas industry market demand will decline. Another threat is that economic downturns threaten the distribution network of MESCO. Economic recession can adversely affect the demand for MESCO's products. At the same time, the economic downturn has affected the relationships of MESCO with its suppliers. Manufacturers directly competed with distributors for end-use customers, effectively reducing the market for MESCO. The threat from Social change is that MESCO had traditionally maintained social contact with its customers through phone calls and person-to-person contact. This has changed and today social contact is established and maintained through social networking. Social networking meant that MESCO should have social networking software and at the same time, its personnel should be trained in social networking. The social factors are important because MESCO depends on relationships and services for its business. The next threat is technological change. Technological change: Because of changing business environment businesses embraced new technologies without making needs assessment or analysis of their position in the market. This led to ad-hoc adoption of technology and a lack of realization of the full benefits of IT investment. With changes in technology, the suppliers wanted advanced inventory planning whereas the customers wanted their orders fulfilled by distributors who could handle high volume logistics. Every connection was different and would need different technology. Currently, MESCO depended on personal relationships and knowledge of regional customers for their products. The technological change along with changes in the needs of suppliers and customers required a logistics focus. One of the key technological changes that posed a threat to MESCO was the internet. The internet not only enabled the suppliers to contact the customers and bypass the distributors, but the internet also provided the customers of MESCO with product information that they earlier obtained from MESCO. Currently, the internet had become the main source of information, and advanced ...