Page 11 - CIMA MCS Workbook November 2018 - Day 1 Tasks

Chapter 3

GRAPPLE FAMILIARISATION

1 INTRODUCTION

It is absolutely crucial that you completely familiarise yourself with the pre‐seen information prior
to attempting the Case Study exam. Merely reading through the materials is unlikely to be
sufficient and it is also important that you consider which aspects of the three technical subjects
may be useful and relevant for the Case Study.
The exercises in the following three chapters will help you to gain a thorough understanding of
the Case Study scenario and ensure you are fully prepared to attempt the Practice Tasks later in
this Workbook.
Solutions to these exercises are provided but are not exhaustive. It is important that you attempt
the exercises yourself and makes notes of your answers before reviewing the solutions.

2 OVERVIEW OF PRE‐SEEN

Founded in 1965 and based in Zedland, Grapple has grown organically since its incorporation,
increasing its market share via its reputation for quality and the customer perception that Grapple
provides value for money products. In spite of this growth in market share and the increase in
Grapple’s product range to include carbonated mixers, still mixers and fruit juices, the business
continues to be operated from a single site.

In the soft drinks sector of the beverages market an industry where market size and brand are key
aspects of success, Grapple is still a relatively small player, having only 9% of total market share as
of the end of quarter 2 in 2018. It is well worthy of note however that this market share has
grown by some 50 % when compared against the same period in 2017.

The two main players within the market have a history of significant advertising campaigns which
have raised their global profile. This approach to advertising of “pushing” their product to
potential customers using emotional and lifestyle attachment is fired by the need to sell high
volumes based on their adoption of a “cost leader” approach to strategy; Grapple on the other
hand have chosen to adopt a more differentiated approach focussing on quality, product
differentiation and innovative recyclable packaging.

The manufacturing process of soft drinks, whilst not complex, is sequential in nature with one
stage being dependent on another for final product production. Grapple demands the highest
level of quality throughout this process which each stage subject to rigorous quality checks. To
maintain its status and protect the Grapple brand, Grapple however does depend on external
suppliers for its raw materials creating a potential risk.

This highly competitive industry has recently been subject to further challenges from the external
environment e.g. those posed by the upsurge in socio‐cultural concerns surrounding the sugar
content in drinks. The industry is facing significant pressure from social and environmental

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