Strategic plan for Gateway Inc.

Solution Preview

---

Well if this were my assignment I would be sure to include the following. Please use this as your guideline to formulate your own thoughts and ideas for your swot.

Please be sure to use the proper format if you decide to use some of this response for research purposes.

[BrainMass Online TA Name], Online TA [OTA ID#], Posting Code [Posting Code], http://BrainMass.com (hyperlinked if submitted electronically), [Month], [Year].

Cherie J. Hetland, M.Ed Online TA# 105280, Posting Code #####, http://BrainMass.com, January, 2007.

Consider the following...

Gateway's Situational Analysis

(What) Gateway's goal is to make its company the place where customers can rely upon effective advice to purchase PCs. This company also wants to provide consumer electronic products and services that are integrated into personalized technology solutions. (Why) It plans to continue to deliver the latest technology solutions and to develop innovative new products and services. (Who) Gateway also offers PCs to significant suppliers of the United States professional markets, consisting of large corporate, small and medium businesses, and government and educational institutions. (How) By working with and acquiring new companies, Gateway has continued to show why it is a leading competitor in the computer industry. (Make this brief and to the point)

Brief History

Gateway began in Sioux City, Iowa. Starting with a $10,000 loan guaranteed by his grandmother, a rented computer and a three-page business plan, Ted Waitt turned Gateway into a revolutionary company which helped shape the technology industry. Gateway became publicly traded in 1993 on the NASDAQ market. Then in 1997, it became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. As of February 13, 2003, Gateway had 5,128 shares of common stock trading on the market, and it has yet to pay a divided end because the company believes that the best use of cash is for internal growth and general corporate purposes.

(Global Markets) Gateway has a strong presence inside and outside the US. In October of 1993, Gateway entered into the international market by launching its manufacturing and marketing operations in Ireland. In 1994, Gateway expanded its worldwide presence with showrooms in France and Germany and has since added another showroom in Germany, as well as in Japan and the UK. The company added new showrooms in Sweden and Australia. In 1995, they built a manufacturing facility in Malacca, Malaysia to help serve the growing Asian/Pacific Markets. (Always try to add something new that not everyone else has used over and over again).

In the United States Gateway has been manufacturing companies in Kansas City, MO, Poway, CA, Sioux Falls and North Sioux City, SD, and Hampton, NY. Gateway has expanded by buying out AMIGA Technologies, including all their patents, trademarks, and trade names. In 2001 Gateway entered into an agreement with Comcast and in 2002 worked with EarthLink to provide high-speed internet access for its customers. Gateway, Inc. and SMART Technologies Inc. jointly launched the new Gateway/SMART Technologies joint solutions in June 2003. The product combines Gateway's plasma displays, PCs and projectors with SMART products such as the SMART Board interactive whiteboards and SMART Board for Plasma Displays. By working together with these companies, they have helped make Gateway a leading distributor in the PC market. (This is a bit too long in my opinion but wanted to give you some ideas. I would definitely shorten this.)

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Gateway, Inc., with a 3.8 percent market share, is one of the largest competitors in the PC market. Offering telephone call centers, websites, and retail stores, the connection to its consumers is extremely close. Pioneering trends in the industry such as offering color monitors, three year warranties, and converging PC and television, Gateway has provided itself with a comfortable current market position. (When doing internet searches try typing in "Gateway Inc" and "Strengths" "Weaknesses" "Threats" etc.) Keeping its high customer-oriented operations is essential to Gateway's sustainability. In recent surveys, Gateway performed better in customer satisfaction than rivals Dell and HP (Hewlett-Packard). Receiving a 93 percent overall quality score, 90 percent overall sales quality score, and an 81 percent in overall support, all which ranked above industry averages. Gateway's excellent customer service comes from consistency with its mission statement and code of ethics. Realizing its need for restructuring, Gateway was able to reduce workforce and close underperforming stores which contributed to its strong cash balance of $1.09 billion in 2003.

Weaknesses

Gateway has recently decided to close most of its stores, causing over 40 percent of the company's employees to loose their jobs. ...