Case Study Deere & Company

John Deere is a man who has changed the life of an Illinois farmer. His success in that lead to even more success like his very own company. John Deere innovated plows and made an impact on society by helping over one thousand farmers succeed in their jobs with his improved plow while showing people that persisting can lead to a solution.

Buyers. As of 2013 Deere has 34% share of the exports of agricultural equipment. Buyers tend to go with a known brand name. Deere has been around 1837 and have been known for their excellent quality farm equipment. Since the buyers are a small group of farmers, government and big corporations, the buyers cannot influence the prices of the equipment. Deere is known for not repossessing farm equipment when there is a down turn, like the depression. This does instill the brand into the buyers. They established operations in strategic countries to keep the prices down and have product ready when it is needed.

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Products. John Deere has a wide portfolio of products, with lawn equipment, farming machinery, and construction equipment, as well as consumer products targeting at the enhancing the brand image and social unity of the equipment users and their family. The consumer products include apparels, hats, and boots for men, women, and kids, and a wide range of toys for kids. It also includes household items, party items, school items, and accessories for the equipment and machinery. These are sold through its dealers, John Deere online store, and those of online dealers such as Rungreen.com. In addition, John Deere is widely exposed to the existing market through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and through educational videos and product demonstration videos on YouTube and blogs. The logo is green and yellow color, signifying agriculture and construction. Businesses buy the products for farming and construction, while families buy them to work their lawn. Consumer motive is functional with utilitarian need, though some consumers might buy the premium products for hedonic reason to satisfy their need for expression.

Deere & Company, together with its subsidiaries (John Deere), incorporated in 1958, operates in three business segments: agriculture and turf segment, construction and forestry segment, and credit segment. The agriculture and turf segment, created by combining the former agricultural equipment and commercial and consumer equipment segments, manufactures and distributes a range of farm and turf equipment, and related service parts. The construction and forestry segment manufactures, distributes to dealers and sells at retail a range of machines and service parts used in construction, earthmoving, material

Q1. How did the competitive environment change for John Deere Company between the 1970 and 1980?

One of the five oldest companies in the United States, Deere and Company is the world's largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment and a major U.S. producer of construction, forestry, and lawn equipment. The

For example, there are many producers for all kinds of apparel and home products. The one thing that Sears does to keep their customers willingness to switch down is providing the lowest possible price and giving the greatest service available. Sears again uses their customer service to deter customers from switching over to a competitors product. Even though, there is an existing threat there, Sears tries to do everything possible to avoid it.

According to Ultimate John Deere By Ralph W. Sanders (), John Deere was as considered by many more of an adapter of technology an imaginative marketer rather than an innovator. He was a keen on seeing value in new ideas and adapted them to his products so that they could better serve his customers4. In addition his desire for quality transposed to become the family tradition transforming the on-man plough making shop to the largest farm equipments making company in the world.

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This paper thoroughly examines Deere & Company from multiple perspectives. First, a review of the company’s history, products and service offerings, corporate strategy, and a summary of the agricultural and construction equipment industry will be provided. Next, the Deere and Company’s current financial position will be examined. This includes reports of John Deere’s earnings, cash flows, assets and debt management, profit margins, and future projections. These financial statistics will then be compared to the primary competitors of John Deere in order to show the company’s financial viability. After the analysis is complete, a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) will be conducted in order to identify key success factors and driving forces. Based on the analysis, strategic recommendations that Deere and Company should leverage in order to avoid potential threats and to maintain its position as an industry leader.

Q1) Assess the product-market strategy and financial strategy Massey pursued through 1976. Where possible, compare Massey’s strategy with those of its leading competitors.

In 1976, Deere & Company was among the world’s leaders of farm and industrial equipment. The majority of Deere’s success was attributed to the light crawler tractor market with over 50% market share. It was at that time Deere earned a reputation for manufacturing reliable small tractor equipment. Deere evolved into producing and manufacturing the larger industrial equipment in phases, beginning in small forestry operations. As farmers and smaller operators sought to diversify their businesses, Deere offered newly innovative attachments and crawlers, and was now seeking to integrate into the large tractor market in phase five. In this phase, Deere introduced the JD750 bulldozer, a heavy contracting

John Deere & Company manufactures and distributes agriculture equipment as well as a broad range of construction and forestry equipment. The company is partnered with FedEx in order to maintain the logistics flow involved with the company’s transactions. FedEx is responsible for providing outsourced transportation services to 11 Deere facilities across the US and Canada. The 11 Deere facilities have different service agreements with FedEx in terms of cost and service depending on the type of business unit.

Threat of new entrants is high when it is easy for new competition to enter the market and now smaller businesses can start up on the internet for little money and make a lot of money. Rivalry among competitors is high when competition is more intense within industries and additional channels can intensify. Online book shops and catalogue companies are a good example. Amazon.com and borders.com are very competitive. However, there are many smaller niche