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Summarized by durumis AI
- It begins by questioning whether the timing of Lotteria's app launch was later than McDonald's, suggesting that it was benchmarking, and reflecting on the boundary between benchmarking and differentiation strategies.
- Using the example of changes in the electric vehicle production strategies of the Japanese automotive industry, it argues for the need for benchmarking in response to changes in the times and the need to develop differentiation strategies after benchmarking.
- Finally, it discusses the need to think about which parts of a service should be taken as differentiation strategies and which parts should be benchmarked, emphasizing the need for discussion from a management perspective.
It was a thought that came to me while eating a hamburger at Lotteria.
In an era where smartphones have developed and become widespread, and digital transformation has taken place, mobile devices are being used to provide offline services. As a result, many F&B companies are taking orders and delivering through apps.
Lotteria allows ordering and delivery through its app, Lotte Eats. Lotte Eats was launched in 2020. This means they didn't offer such services before, which raises a question.
McDonald's, another company, has been operating its McDelivery app since 2014. Does this mean Lotteria ultimately benchmarked McDonald's? Superficially, it appears they adopted their business operation strategy. Could they have created their own differentiated strategy instead of following the app?
The reason for this thought is the Japanese automotive industry, although it's a different industry. The Japanese automotive industry wasn't proactive in producing electric vehicles. This was because they possessed strong hybrid vehicle technology, and their sales supported that.
Nevertheless, they recently announced that they would be investing heavily in electric vehicle production. This means they eventually adopted a benchmarking strategy from a differentiated one.
Does this mean that when an industry structure changes, international political circumstances change, or culture changes, and one company establishes its position, benchmarking that company becomes a necessary element?
Or, after benchmarking, can it be considered a differentiation strategy if you differentiate in terms of services, elements, or design?
Ultimately, it seems there's a need to determine the criteria for judging what is differentiation and what is benchmarking. It seems like it depends on the point in time and the element you're looking at, which is my personal conclusion.
If that's the case, what part of our service should we adopt as a differentiation strategy, and what part should we benchmark? Even though I'm not a business major, I think a discussion from a management perspective would be interesting.
