Marketing Plan Formatted

RUNNING head:TEAM 2 MARKETING PLAN SHELL 2

 

Team 2 Marketing Plan SHELL 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEAM 2 MARKETING PLAN SHELL

CANADIAN SOLAR INC.

 

MBA640 – Innovation Through Marketing and Technology

 

 

 

 

Executive Summary

 

 

Situation Analysis

Company Overview

Canadian Solar Inc. (Canadian Solar) is one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels. It is a Chinese Company based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. According to Bloomberg, the Company is a provider of solar power products, services, and system solutions with operations in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and Asia (Canadian Power). The Company was founded in 2001 in Ontario, Canada. Today the Company has successive subsidiaries in 19 countries around the world. China and Canada is where the Company’s manufacturing facilities are located. The Company markets their products to diverse customers in various markets, including Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Czech Republic, China, the US, Canada, Japan, and India. Canadian Solar is headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The Company is listed as CSIQ on the NASDAQ market with reported revenues of (US Dollars) US$3,744.5 million for the fiscal year ended December 2018 (FY2018), an increase of 10.4% over FY2017. In FY2018, the Company’s operating margin was 9.7%, compared to an operating margin of 7.9% in FY2017. In FY2018, the Company recorded a net margin of 6.3%, compared to a net margin of 2.9% in FY2017 (E Trade, 2019).

Canadian Solar employees 12,000 people in 12 different countries, 70% work in China, and of those 30% are female. Canadian Solar has strong employee labor rights in all of their facilities.

Mission

The Company’s vision, as described by Dr. Qu is to foster sustainable development and to make lives better by bringing electricity powered by the sun to millions of people worldwide (Canadian Solar Inc., 2018). Canadian Solar Inc.’s mission is the delivery of clean, safe and affordable solar energy (Canadian Solar Inc., n.d.).

Customers have a choice to invest in a single module or a tailor-made energy solution. In an effort to help those customers make difficult choices, Canadian Solar is dedicated and has made it a mission since their inception, to help customers make changes for the betterment of their lives. Their PV panels are thoroughly tested and proven to work effectively even under harsh conditions. Their dedication to their products and to supporting their customers in over 20 countries also demonstrates attractive bankability for the Company. Their customers can always depend on Canadian Solar Inc. to deliver quality products and are content with showing their buying commitments and devotion to support an exceedingly credible solar energy business.

Product or service description

Canadian Solar Inc. is a leading global provider of solar energy and the manufacture of solar PV modules. With successive subsidiaries in counties like the USA, Brazil, Canada, south-east Asian counties, and China, the Company provides service and produce over 36 GW of quality solar modules. Additionally, the Company’s energy segments are primarily developed, operated, maintained and sold in the aforementioned successive subsidiaries. The Company has 4.7 GW solar power plants built globally. These plants maintain a power source operating at 795.8 MWp with an estimated resale value of one billion US dollars (Canadian Solar, 2018).

Products include module segment, energy development segment, and electricity generation as well as the design, development, manufacture, and sale of solar power products for use in a range of residential, commercial and industrial solar power generation systems. The Company offers various products, including ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar power systems, and solar products.

Value Proposition

Canadian Solar is dedicated to making a difference and changing the lives of all their customers with the intention to retain and attract new ones. Regardless of the customers investment decision in a stand-alone module or an alternate energy solution, the Company guarantees their products and services. Further, these panels provide a steadfast energy resource even when challenged with severe climate changes. To assure the effectiveness of their products, Canadian Solar Inc. closely assess their PV panels before final distribution. As a precautionary measure, the Company offer their customers a 25-year warranty to use towards any unexpected malfunctions. Based on this declaration and the excellent customer support in over 20 countries, Canadian Solar is an attractive Company for investing and purchasing products. Canadian Solar Inc. made a promise to their customers. Additionally, this promise was to always make their customers feel comfortable with their decisions to conduct business with the Company because of their status as a highly ranked, reliable service provider and manufacturer of solar energy products (One Stop Report, 2019).

Canadian Solar’s value proposition is to make a difference, a positive contribution to society and the environment by providing exceptional, sustainable products and services for all its stakeholders (Canadian Solar Inc., 2019). In their 2018 Sustainability Report (2019), the Company states we are here to do good while doing good business. To that end, Canadian Solar not only believes in providing superior quality products but being socially responsible, by promoting awareness, supporting local communities, preserving fairness in trade and ensuring diversity and inclusion in its workforce.

 

Figure 1 Example of Canadian Solar Product

 

 

 

SWOT Analysis

Canadian Solar Inc. can use a SWOT analysis as a tool to plan and assess market activity related to growth and the expansion of sales. A SWOT analysis is also beneficial in helping the Company measure competition. Additionally, this SWOT analysis will determine the internal and external strategic factors related to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the business.

Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
· Canadian Solar Inc. has significant strength and is dominant in the marketplace · A leading producer of solar energy and the manufacture of solar PV modules · Superb performance in marketing new products   · The company has earned trust and loyalty amongst their customers   · Conducts market segmenting surveys to become informative of consumers needs   · The company’s supply chain is efficient through block chain technologies   · Manages multiple pipeline projects including acquisitions and strategic planning	· Company’s brand is not fully advertised   · The company is not meeting some of the expected advancements for power operating sources   · Canadian Solar is not invested in Research and Development (R&D) in over two years.   · A bad reputation associated with environmental conservation   · High attrition among workers in some parts of the organization   · The company has rented property instead of purchased resulting in unnecessary borrowing due to lack of cash flow	· The company has a chance to explore renewable source of energy and product market of other countries   · Plans to increase their marketplace activity at fifty percent or higher   · Shipping costs have decreased significantly and allows Canadian Solar to increase their profit margin   · Development in current technology advancements will help the company create new strategies and ideas for new products	· The lack of an experienced and skilled workforce   · Slow growth rate in parts of the world it operates   · The rise of raw materials can be a significant threat that affects the whole organization, which will increase the cost of products   · A change in how customers purchase goods physically as oppose to buying online   · The business outlook is primarily based on management’s current views and estimates about market conditions (potentially subject to change).

Strengths

· As a leading producer of solar energy and the manufacture of solar PV modules, Canadian Solar Inc. has significant strength and is dominant in the marketplace. As a result of its current leading position in the market, the Company can introduce new items. The organizational history of a reliable distribution network has allowed products to be distributed to other suppliers and companies. The Company also has an excellent track record of providing quality products to many technology companies, which has widened its position in the retail market.

· Canadian Solar Inc. was built on a very solid brand portfolio. This brand portfolio has given the Company a solid reputation in the marketplace to introduce and generate new solar products. (Shah, 2017). Consequently, a superb performance from marketing new products has gained the Company’s trust and loyalty among the customers. As a result, trust and loyalty are two of the Company’s most vital strengths.

· Canadian Solar Inc. does not experience blockchain supply challenges. The value of adopting blockchain technology for the Company has the potential to connect different ledgers and data points while maintaining data integrity among multiple participants. (Marr, 2018). Accordingly, the properties of transparency and immutability of blockchain technology is useful for eliminating fraud in the supply chain and maintaining the integrity of the system. The Company’s supply chain is efficient, which reduces extra costs and dramatically increases revenue. Moreover, the Company’s blockchain process strengthens and guarantees secure transactions, relationships with other suppliers and other supply chain, partners. Great website access for customers purchasing is also beneficial for the Company in multiple global locations. (Beamish & Jordan, 2018).

Overall, Canadian Solar Inc.’s most notable strength is the ability to manage multiple pipeline projects including acquisitions and strategic planning operations that confirms their competitiveness in the industry.

 

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