History of Nokia
Nokia Company was founded in 1865 with its headquarters in Espoo, in Helsinki (Den, 2001). The company was founded by Fredrik Idestan who was a mining Engineer; the company started as pulp around Tampere Finland. The company grew and in 1868 a second plant was started in Nokia. It has since transformed into a large scale producer of infrastructure used in telecommunication, development of technology and licensing. Since its founding in 1865, the company has undergone great evolution to attain its present position and status. In the year 1868 another branch of the pulp production plant was opened up in Nokia. In the year 1922 the company entered into a partnership and was owned jointly by other two companies. The two companies were; Finnish cable works whose main production line is the manufacture of electric transmitting cable and telecommunication transmitting canes. The other company is Finnish Rubber works whose main production line is the manufacture of rubber and its products. The joint ownership of the companies enabled Nokia to penetrate new markets with much ease (Martti, 2006). In the year 1965 three companies merged to form one company with different production line. The new company was given the name New Nokia Corporation. In 1979 Nokia entered into a joint venture with Solara. This is a television making company that had access to more sophisticated technology and infrastructure. Jointly they produced Mobira, this product became the platform for the current and future mobile services. In the year 1981 Nokia made one of the greatest milestonesin the telecommunication industry (Martti, 2006). It was this year that Nokia produced Nordic mobile technology. This was the first ever intercellular network device. In the year that followed Nokia made yet another big step in the industry, it produced Mobirasenatorcar phone which is also referred to as talk man. This was the first ever mobile phone to be manufactured by Nokia. The manufacture of this device was a breakthrough in the existence of Nokia in the telecommunication industry.
In the year 1992 Nokia products had started penetrating different markets. This is the year when Nokia 1011 was released to the market (David, 2014).This saw the growth in sale and revenue in the company. The phone penetrated the market easily due to little competition therefore making Nokia a household name. Nokia took over Motorola, another telecommunication company in 1998. This increased the production capacity and the company was able to meet demands without straining its facilities.Nokia was the pioneer of gaming using mobile phone. The most common game being what is called the snake. With this gaming technology Nokia was able to command the market and was standing tall among its competitors.
SWOT analysis
This is a procedure that is used to analyze the internal and external influences that affect a given business or firm. The analysis is used to determine the strength of the business and how it can adapt to future challenges. The initials stand for strengths, weakness, opportunity and treats. Internal factors affecting Nokia can be classified as the first two synchronism of SWOT;
Strengths
Nokia is a company that has been in existence for a very long time, therefore it has advantages over other companies that are struggling to learn the market trends(Alexander, 2010).
Nokia has various strengths which form the basis for its existence.
Band name-Nokia is generally accepted by consumers. This is due to its long existence in the market and tested quality. Consumers identify Nokia with unique qualities which include; durability of their products, creativity that is coupled in Nokia’s products and the reliability of the products.
High resale value–Nokia products have higher resale value compared to other competing
Products in the market.This has helped to maintain sale since consumer have an understanding that when they requiredisposing off the products it earns better returns(Nikunj, 2007)..
User friendly–most of Nokia’s gargets are simple and easy to use. They have a good human machine interface.
Availability if products at all prices- The Company has devisedgadgets that range in prices, making it possible to satisfy all level of income earners.
Strong customer relation- this is an attribute that makes a customer who has used Nokia product to remain loyal to Nokia.
Weakness
These are the setbacks that hold back the hold back the progress of a business unit. They are the challenges that originate from the internal structure and systems that are weak and have loopholes. Nokia’s weaknesses include the following;
Poor after sale service- Nokia has been criticized for not offering after sales services and customer follow up on their goods.
Taking long to enter into lucrative markets- This was evident by the slow pace at which Nokia took before joining the smart phone business. In the event it lost a big share of the market.
Some products are not affordable- in comparison with its competitors, some Nokia products are quite expensive to the middle income earners.
Low priced products are less stylish-Nokia product becomes less stylish when they are of lower prices. This is a weakness that should be rectified because middle and low income earners form the majority population.
Apart from the internal factors that influence the company, external factor are also dominant in the determination of the existence and growth of the company (David, 2014). These factor are grouped into two; Opportunities and threats.
Opportunities
These are the possible of expansion possible business and market gaps that the company can exploit. Nokia has unlimited opportunities that needs to be exploited. They include the following;
Microsoft – Nokia deal- this is a win- win deal in which Nokia and Microsoft stand to benefit. Exchange of technologies and developments of customer guided software are just but a few of the opportunities that exist.
Other hand held devices-The market requires other hand held device e.g. radio calls. This is an opportunity that the company should exploit.
Quality camera- customers require quality cameras that are able to produce 3 D images; this is an area that Nokia should reap big.
Threats
These are external challenges that will prevent the expansion of business and cause setbacks to the process of growth of the company. The treats facing Nokia include the following;
Strong competition- Many mobile service providers have started up, this has increased competition in the telecommunication industry. Improve and advancement in technology has also led to stiff competition.
Low cost products from China- the market has been flooded with cheap telecommunication products from China. This is creating unfair competition among the firms. Chinese mobile production companies are producing products at much reduced cost.
Samsung and iPhones– These are the competitors who brought down Nokia in the year 2014. These companies are not relenting in their bid to offerproducts.
Analysis of Nokias’ strength
Nokia has great potential coupled with its long existence in the market. Their products are not new to consumers. Nokia has enjoyed goodwill from it’s’ clients since it is known for producing reliable, durable and creative products. Their products have higher resale value compared to other telecommunication devices. Nokia has the ability to survive in the market if it can mitigate on its weaknesses. The treats that face the company are more that the opportunities therefore the company has to change it mode of operations. The slow pace of penetration into markets must change if the company is to survive the stiff competition that exits. The Microsoft –Nokia deal is a great opportunity that Nokia must prepare adequately to handle. The company is not in a strong position to withstand the current market situation. To survive the company must adjust and change its strategies.
Corporate level strategy
The corporate level strategy of Nokia involves the major business entities it is involved in. Nokia is involved in four line of business which are; manufacture of mobile devices, this is the main business operation of Nokia. It is also involved in manufacture of accessories for the mobile device; these accessories are required for the continued use of the devices and Production of mobile application and operating systems(Michael, 1985).Nokia’s mission/vision statement is ‘connecting people. The company is contemplating on whether to acquire other new business or divert its line of business to remain among the list of top telecommunication companies. It is developing both long term and broad term strategies so as to address short term, medium term and long term concerns raised by clients.The recent Microsoft is its corporate strategy.
Business level strategy
The business level strategy of Nokia is to use mergers to exploit markets and reach new customers. Nokia is a brand name that is generally trusted by customers therefore its business strategies are designed towards maintaining the loyalty of customers and counter new competition in the markets. Marketing strategies used include segmentation of markets by creating high end, medium end and light end products so as to satisfy the demand of varied customer demand.Nokia is currently exploiting the strength of the internet by introducing e-business. This is aplatform through which clients can order for handsets or other gadgets through the internet and arrange for their shipment and delivery. Since technology is advancing Nokia is constantlyreviewing its’ product strategy and it is constantly developing new mobile that meet customers specific needs.
Implementation
Nokia has come of age and it has no difficulty in penetration into markets because of its brand name which is generally accepted customers. Nokia is slow in penetrating new market and therefore losing customers to competitor. Nokia is involved in pricing strategies that reduce the prices of handsets which is not good to the company. Currently the company is reducing production of light end product and concentrating on medium and high end products. The company is losing the bigger population which is composed of low income earners. The e-business is a good platform for Nokia’s growth.
Recommendation
Nokia has a good reputation with customers who have once used their products; this is a boost to their market value since customers recognize the quality of the devices. Nokia must change its strategies of how it enters new markets. The speed at which they entire new markets is of great importance. The company must improve on the classiness of their devices which are of lower prices. The company must constantly evolve with technology to ensure that it remains relevant.
References
Alexander, P. (2010). Business Generation: A Handbook For visionaries Games Changers and Challenges. John Wileys and Sons .
Aneesh, Gary. (2012). Nokia: Connecting people or Disconnecting customers- a case study.
David, J. C. (2014). The decline and fall of Nokia.Schidst, Oderstorm.
Den, S. (2001). The Nokia Revolution: The story of an extra ordinary company that transformed an industry, Amacom book.
James,C. (2001). Good To Great .Why Some Companies make the leap….and others don’t .Harper Business.S
Margaret, A. P. (1993). The cornerstones of competitive advantage. A resource based view. John wileys and Sons
Martti, H. (2006). Nokia: The inside story. Prentice hall
Michael, E. Porter. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating a Sustainable Superior Performance. Free press.
NikunjDaga. (2007). Nokia’s Marketing strategies in India.
Press Release. (7, August 2013). Nokia completes acquisition of Siemen’s: Stake in Nokia Siemens network.