MAXIPRIMUS

: a balanced strategic course

Abstract

The presented thesis is related with a corporate strategy case study and divided in two more parts: literature review and teaching notes. All the written content serves as a teaching instrument and aims to allow students to apply strategy course matters on a real life situation. Maxiprimus, Lda is a company operating in the ready-to-eat food industry since the year of 2001. Over 14 years this company faced several strategic challenges that indicated as a start-up can penetrate a saturated market if knowing how to deal with it. From a foreign representative to a national producer and exporter, many events marked this company’s competitive evolution. As importing and selling were a short run plan, in 2006 the decision to create an own brand came to revolutionize the industry and change totally the business model. Maxiprimus developed a concept with a wide portfolio of products and services called Primus, allowing the firm to survive in the market. From here on, decisions about whether to strategically concentrate operations both in products or markets become Maxiprimus’ priorities. Supplying major food distributors as SONAE, Jerónimo Martins, Makro, Leclerc or airline industry food suppliers as Cateringpor, Maxiprimus faces challenges on how to deliver the product to the customers with the highest quality and lowest cost. During the case, options that vary between decisions to establish partnerships to outsource production and distribution, how to internationalize given the company’s microstructure and a possible situation of turning into a vertical integrated company are addressed. These strategic decisions allied with existing product, market, customer portfolio and internationalization are the mix for success. The second part contains important theory necessary to interpret the case study and that should be applied when solving the proposed assignment questions in the teaching notes’ section.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Cardeal (Supervisor)