MahaChem: the chemistry of distribution

ABSTRACT

This case study details how an small and medium-sized enterprise innovates and build on its core competencies to stay competitive. The firm evolves from selling paints to one of providing solutions as a ‘middleman’ between the large paint manufacturers and suppliers of chemical constituents of which are needed to formulate paints. The firm continues to build upon its technical knowledge of paints while the leaders focus on building social and human capital. The case study challenges one to think about how much such a firm within a competitive industry could sustain its strategic advantage.

KEYWORDS:

• Paint
• social and human capitals
• competitive advantage
• innovative
• business model
• SME

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Chow-Hou Wee is Professor of Strategy and Marketing at the Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He is currently the Head of the Division of Marketing and International Business and a Senior Fellow of the Asian Institute of Consumer Insight (ACI) in the absence of the Executive Director. He was also a Dean of the Business School at the National University of Singapore.

Dr. Wee has over 330 publications in various international, regional and local journals and proceedings. He has authored more than 12 books, and is best known for his works on applying ancient Chinese classics (like Sun Zi Art of War, the 36 Stratagems of the Chinese, and the Principles of Tao Zhu-gong) into modern strategic management, business and marketing practices.

Dr. Wee is currently on the editorial boards of the China Business Review (China), the Journal of Management (Taiwan) and the Global Business and Organizational Excellence (USA). He has consulted/conducted executive training for over 300 major organizations in 30 countries/economies, and is a well-known international conference speaker. On the corporate front, he is/has been a Board Director of several publicly listed companies in Singapore. He is also on the Advisory Boards of several international organizations.

Dr Clive Choo is a Senior Lecturer with Nanyang Business School, NTU. He holds a PhD in small business management and Master of Business Research from UWA (University of Western Australia) and an MBA from Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He teaches Strategic Management in NTU since 2003 and had been the course leader for a number of years. Dr Choo is an Advisory Board member of a Strategy textbook, Exploring Strategy, published by Prentice Hall. He had been an external examiner for SIM University for the Strategic Management module. Dr Choo previously held Senior Managerial positions at Groupe Schneider, Yokogawa Electric and Mettler-Toledo. In these large MNCs for about two decades with responsibilities covering Asia Pacific, his roles include managing sales force, distribution networks and strategic business units.

Dr Choo is a member of the Internationalization sub-committee within the SME Committee, a part of Singapore Business Federation. His contribution as a sub-committee member is to make recommendations to the Government to grow the SMEs internationally. Dr Choo has consulted and conducted training for SMEs as well as for the large organizations. He had done several case study-related consulting projects with Ministry of Manpower and Temasek Holdings among others. Dr Choo served as judge and workshop facilitator for entrepreneurship competitions to encourage start-ups. Also, Dr Choo had taught Strategic management for ICPAS and the Australian CPA for candidates taking the Professional Examinations (CPA qualification).

Notes

1. Source: http://www.oanda.com/currency/average – average annual exchange rate of S$ 2.08 = 1EURO for 2008 and S$ 1.45 = 1 US$ for 2009.

2. Asia-Pacific market referred to in the DataMonitor report ‘Chemicals in Singapore, July 2010 comprises Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

3. Source: http://www.oanda.com/currency/average – average annual exchange rate of S$ 1.36 = 1 US$ for 2010.

4. Source: http://www.oanda.com/currency/average – average annual exchange rate of S$ 1.26 = 1USD for 2011 and S$ 1.81  =  1 Euro for 2010.

5. The Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards, first established in 1995, recognises local, privately held companies who have contributed to economic development in Singapore and abroad. It is jointly organised by The Business Times and KPMG, and supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, International Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Business Federation and SPRING Singapore.

6. Source: http://www.oanda.com/currency/average – average annual exchange rate of S$ 0.64 = 1MR for 1992 and S$ 0.41 =  1 MR for 2011.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chow-Hou Wee

This case was written by Professor Chow-Hou Wee (C H Wee) and Dr Clive Choo. Professor Chow-Hou Wee is a Professor of Strategy & Marketing and Head of the Division of Marketing and International Business while Dr Clive Choo is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Strategy, Management and Organisation. Both are from the Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University. The case is written strictly for purpose of teaching illustration. It should not be interpreted as the effective or ineffective handling of a business situation. No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced, or distributed in any form or medium without the permission of the copyright owners, the Government of the Republic of Singapore. © 2012 Government of the Republic of Singapore. Last edited on 22nd May 2017.

Clive Choo

This case was written by Professor Chow-Hou Wee (C H Wee) and Dr Clive Choo. Professor Chow-Hou Wee is a Professor of Strategy & Marketing and Head of the Division of Marketing and International Business while Dr Clive Choo is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Strategy, Management and Organisation. Both are from the Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University. The case is written strictly for purpose of teaching illustration. It should not be interpreted as the effective or ineffective handling of a business situation. No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced, or distributed in any form or medium without the permission of the copyright owners, the Government of the Republic of Singapore. © 2012 Government of the Republic of Singapore. Last edited on 22nd May 2017.