Sultan Trucks Limited are the manufacturers of commercial trucks for the last 20 years. The company had been doing good business, but recently due to irregular supply of parts by its suppliers, the company could not make timely delivery of trucks to the parties, who had booked their trucks. The customers cancelled their bookings and there were very few new bookings. The sales of the company started declining that resulted into losses. The management of the company analysed the problem and decided to takeover those two firms because of whom the problem arose, one of them was supplying tyres for its trucks and another axles to the company. The company also extended credit facilities to the customers and started booking the trucks without charging any booking amount. It also decided to employ 100 unemployed youth, with 50% reservation for females to take up the cleaning operations, using the imported machines, inside the factories as well as the surrounding areas. Identify and state the concepts of enterprise marketing and growth strategies discussed in the above paragraph.

Question

Accepted Answer

The concepts of enterprise marketing and growth strategies discussed in the paragraph are:

**Acquisition (Hostile Acquisition)**: Sultan Trucks Limited decided to takeover the two firms — one supplying tyres and another supplying axles — because of whom the problem arose. This is an example of acquisition, where one company buys most of another company's ownership stakes to gain control. Since the problem arose due to these suppliers and the company decided to take them over, it can be considered a form of acquisition aimed at securing the supply chain.

**Vertical Merger**: The takeover of the tyre supplier and axle supplier represents vertical merger integration. Since Sultan Trucks manufactures commercial trucks and these suppliers provide different components (tyres and axles) for the finished product, this merger integrates different stages of the supply chain. After the merger, the combined entity ensures seamless raw material sourcing and eliminates dependency on external suppliers.

**Internal Growth Strategy**: The company also adopted internal growth strategies by extending credit facilities to customers and starting to book trucks without charging any booking amount. These are marketing strategies to boost sales and retain customers during difficult times.

**Corporate Social Responsibility**: The company decided to employ 100 unemployed youth, with 50% reservation for females, for cleaning operations. This demonstrates the company's commitment to social responsibility while also addressing operational needs.