Research by: Sandeep Puri & Kakoli Sen
Abstract
In January 2020, the co-founder of Alpha Advantech LLP (Alpha Advantech), an agricultural and gardening products company based in Karnal, Haryana, India, had to decide whether to drive an organic growth strategy and utilize his resources to expand the company’s operations, or stick to consolidation and market penetration with the current range of products. Alpha Advantech had performed well since its inception in 2016, and the co-founder aimed to make it a ₹600 million company by 2022. However, the current team size and scale limitations of the company were potential impediments to achieving this target. The co-founder could not decide whether to let Alpha Advantech stay niche in the business or to expand it both geographically and in terms of its range of offerings. He realized that if he were to choose expansion over consolidation, he would need to devise a strategic plan for Alpha Advantech’s growth, assess the technical and digital capabilities that his company would require, and anticipate the scalability issues it was likely to face.
Learning Objective
This case is suitable for graduate-level marketing courses on entrepreneurship, business opportunity analysis, and marketing strategy. The case can also be used to facilitate discussion on strategic planning and franchising, or on the digital and technical capabilities that a start-up needs and the possible scalability issues that it could face. The case can complement a session on growth in a medium-sized entrepreneurial firm. It is an ideal platform for demonstrating how progressive vision and planning initiatives can help start-up enterprises achieve success in the market. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:
- Evaluate a start-up’s business model and its growth options.
- Work out the strategic choices available to a medium-sized entrepreneurial firm, evaluate the alternatives, and devise strategies for the successful conduct of the business.
- Discuss different marketing strategies such as intensive growth, integrative growth, market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification.
- Assess franchise options for a start-up.
Issues: entrepreneurship, marketing, intensive growth, integrative growth, scalability, franchising
Disciplines: Marketing, Entrepreneurship, International
Industries: Manufacturing
Setting: India, Small, 2020
Intended Audience: MBA/Postgraduate
To cite this case: Puri, S., & Sen, K. (2020). Alpha Advantech LLP: Reaching the masses. Ivey ID: 9B20A036. London, Canada: Ivey Publishing.
To access this case: https://www.iveycases.com/ProductView.aspx?id=109263
