Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

When walking into a small deli here in New York City searching for a drink , chances are that you will end up seeing and buying a Coca Cola. When walking into a small deli anywhere around the United States chances are you still will see a whole aisle of Coca Cola and most likely purchase a Coca Cola product. Even in third world countries, such as Africa you can stop at a small shop in the middle of nowhere and still purchase a Coca Cola. This is a complete advantage to the Coca Cola company due to the fact that they have the world's most extensive distribution system in the entire planet! They have been able to supply Coca Cola to billions of people all around the world. Even in the places competitors would have no interest in placing their products. Another competitive advantage is that Coca Cola has been around for a very long time. It has been around since 1892 making it the most trusted brand of drink and having its name and logo recognized everywhere.

Although they are one of the oldest soft drinks available they continue to grow and expand with different flavors and brands of  drinks, such as Sprite, Dasani, Fanta, Powerade, Honest tea and many more. This planning allows Coca Cola to sell more and more product of different varieties. However still Original Coca Cola is the most popular. Also the secret ingredient to Coca Cola makes it better than any other cola soft drink. Which also leads to their marketing genius in advertising. Such as “ The Secret Formula” Ads.

Creating a vast amount of advertising throughout the century making it most popular and better known than any other brand out there. Lastly another strategic advantage that Coke does better than anyone else is their production plan. It takes a fraction of the actual retail price of a coke to actually make one. Making the Coca Cola Company much more money. Their strategic planning of making their name more known , having their product distributed everywhere, and their production prices have made Coca Cola the extremely successful company it is today.