Caterpillar
It started as a new and innovative agricultural tool for farmers in the Western part of the United States in 1871. The company that built it quickly discovered, through environmental scanning, more uses beyond farming. Some of those uses included hauling freight and timber, just as a locomotive would, but without the restriction of railroad tracks. Other effective uses of this product came to include road building and earthmoving at construction sites all across the globe ("All In A Day's Work" 10). The product I am referring to is the track-type tractor and it has helped reshape the world we now live in, both physically and economically. The company I am referring to is Caterpillar Inc., headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. Caterpillar's performance for the past 76 years is proof that it knows how to craft and implement winning strategies.The story of Caterpillar dates back to the late 19th century, when Daniel Best and Benjamin Holt were experimenting with ways to fulfill the promise steam tractors held for farming ("All In A Day's Work" 4). Prior to the development of the Caterpillar Tractor Company in 1925, the C. L. Best Tractor Company and The Holt Manufacturing Company pioneere
Return On Equity (5-Year Avg.) 26.2 16.9 16.2 Forbes.com lists Caterpillar as a Fortune 50and one of only a handful of U.S. companies that leads its industry while competing globally from a domestic manufacturing base. Caterpillar is considered the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines (Annual Report 3). Caterpillar designs, manufactures and markets all of its products and services in coordination with its network of dealers and subsidiaries. But that's not all it does. In 1990, Caterpillar revised its long-range strategy to move from a focused or market niche strategy based on differentiation to more of a broad differentiation strategy. Investment Returns % Company Industry S&P 500 One of Caterpillar's weaknesses is a higher construction equipment price relative to some of its rivals. This is partially due to the amount of technological research and development it puts into its product line. Caterpillar claims that even though their prices tend to be a little higher, the benefits include a decreased operating cost and the competitive advantage it can offer it customers (Forbes).
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Approximate Word count = 1695
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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