McDonalds Corporation Distribution Design Report, Essay Example

McDonalds Company has emerged among the largest chain for hamburger and fast foods worldwide, and operates in 119 countries serving approximately 70 million customers daily. The company is headquartered in the US having started its operation in the year 1940 as a mere barbecue restaurant, before growing to a larger restaurant in 1948. Maurice and Richard McDonald initially operated the company, but later on, a businessperson Ray Kroc joined them as a franchise agent (Mieth 17). Thus, the company is operated as a corporation, franchisee, and an affiliate, and these are the means through which the company collects its revenues. The McDonald’s product mix includes cheeseburgers, hamburgers, French fries, chicken, milk shakes, soft drinks, breakfast items, and desserts. Other recently introduced items in the company menu include smoothies, fish, salads, and wraps. The company gets an average of $27.5 billion with a profit margin of $ 5.5 billion; this was in the year 2012.

The McDonald company has formulated various marketing strategies that has enabled it survive over time a midst competition from its competitors. The company has also developed a product mix that makes its products unique and on high demand by customers. The company’s market mix mainly focuses on product, promotion, pricing, and placement, a strategy that has greatly led to their success (John 41). In their marketing strategy the company, mainly targeted young children aged 3 – 15 and their parents. They understood well that the buying decision was mainly made by parents hence they placed a suitable price.

The McDonald Company currently enjoys a competitive position in the market; this is attributed to its longtime existence in the market making them very competitive. One of the things that have placed the company in a highly competitive position is the product brand. The company has a unique product brand through which its customers identify. The McDonald brand has gained fame all over the world and it has even led to customer loyalty. This in turn has made customer prefer their products to the others in the market. Due to the customer loyalty, they have come ahead of their competitors and become the largest market players across the globe. The company has also existed in the market for a longtime hence giving them the ability to discern the various needs of people in the market (Mieth 23). Consequently, the company has known the demand levels, customer preferences and product quality and quantity of various markets. Having these details has enabled the McDonald Company to earn a competitive position in the market.

Some of the company’s strengths and competencies include being the largest and the most popular food market worldwide, the company also enjoys a brand recognition of $40 billion value (Moschandreas 33). Similarly, the company gives advertising a large priority, and has set aside $ 2billion for the same. In efforts to efficiently meet the diverse customer needs, the company has adapted local food menus to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. To increase their popularity, the company has equally engaged in partnership with the best brands across the globe hence placing them in positions where customers can easily notice their existence.

Despite this trail of success, the company still faces a myriad of challenges within its existence in the market. One of such is negative publicity, which is largely propelled by their customers. They have also been on the spot for providing citizens with unhealthy food menu, especially young children whom their products largely target. Lately, the company has also faced high level of employee turnover, which greatly weakens its existence in the market.

Part 2: product line

The McDonald Company has a product line mainly focusing on cheeseburgers, hamburgers, French fries, chicken, milk shakes, soft drinks, breakfast items, and desserts. Children, hence making them the main target in the market (Moschandreas 33), consume most of these. In order to facilitate distribution of these products to the prospective buyers, the company has developed unique distribution channels across the globe. The distribution channels include the various franchises company branches that have been opened in over 119 countries to distribute these products to the customers.

One of the things that the company has laid emphasis on is the diversity in customer demands. This is brought about by various cultural differences within the countries of operation. The McDonalds Company has therefore ensured that they produce products that are compatible with the local needs and demands of the citizens.

Children for the same base the company’s choice of this line of products on demand; children like such items despite their lack of purchasing power (John 32). The company therefore materialized on the ability of parents to purchase such things for their children. In fact, when the company began, they had children in mind as their main prospects. The company has materialized on this and has largely attracted a wide range of customers, not only children but also adults. This has led them into becoming some of the largest players in the industry worldwide. To propel them even further along this product line, the company introduced a brand that made them unique and their customers all over the world recognize their restaurants through such brands.

Work Cited

None of Us Is As Good As All of Us: How Mcdonald’s Prospers by Embracing Inclusion and Diversity, Epub Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2009. Print.

Mieth, Heike. The History of Mcdonald’s. Mu?nchen: GRIN Verlag, 2007.

Moschandreas, Maria. Business Economics. London [u.a.: Business Press, 2009. Print.