Faber-Castell (Essay Sample)

Faber-Castell
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Introduction
Faber-Castell is the biggest manufacturer of wood-encased pencils on the planet and additionally makes a wide array of pens, crayons, drawing supplies and adornments such as erasers and sharpeners. The Faber-Castell dynasty has been making wooden pencils by the several millions in Stein, Germany. A torrent of brilliantly shaded pencils streams from machines in their old processing plant characterized by a tile top and windows surrounded in pate tints. The organization was founded in Germany in the year 1761 by Casper Faber. The footprints of the company have since been established in just about all the nations around the globe with the company having set up 15 processing plants and 19 sales points across the world. Faber- Castell produces in excess of 1,800 million dark lead and shade pencils yearly, making the company the world's biggest pencil producer in its center field of wood-cased pencils.
Faber-Castell’s core competencies.
Before looking at the major competencies that have made the company dominate the sector for all those years, it is important to highlight the major breakthroughs that have catapulted the company to the global pedestal.
1. The company is the biggest pencil producer on the planet.
2. The company developed the hexagonal pencil.
3. The organization set the benchmark for evaluating of pencils.
4. Faber Castell was the first pencil brand to win a few configuration recompenses (for the creative triangular pencil "Hold" in 2001).
5. First organization to launch the triangular pencil.
6. First organization to utilize water-based varnish that covers its pencils to guarantee children security and for environmental protection.
Faber-Castell delineates how medium size organizations which represent about 60% of the nation's occupations can stay focused in the business sector. It has concentrated on outline and building, created a talent for transforming regular items into premium products (The Economist 2014).
Pencils made by Faber and later Faber-Castell in Nuremberg have had a reputation for quality since its inception in 1856. The family firm had been operating since 1761, but it is Lothar who went global, opening new branches in London, New York, Vienna, Paris and St Petersburg. From that point forward, years of research have gone into making the pencil leads firmer and integrating the sort of wood that best secures them from breaking when dropped. Initially, Faber-Castell began utilizing water-based, environmental-friendly paints in the 1990s. Instructors and parents usually worried about the children consuming toxins while chewing at their pencils would have favored plain wooden ones. At the same time, the company was also aware that children cherish brilliant colors. So the company revamped its whole procedure to suit new paints without destructive chemicals, with instructors in Europe now urge parents to purchase the pencils by their names (Russell and Cohn 2013).
The company’s second development was to present an ergonomic triangular shape that is prevalent with children. The third development was the addition of rubbery spots that keep the pencils from slipping out of sweaty little hands. The organization owes its dominant initiative in the worldwide business sector to its conventional commitment to the highest quality models and an incredible number of item advancements and upgrades. The meaning of Faber-Castell's high claims for its own particular brand is focused around its key objective to continuously advance the benefit for the client and to distinguish itself from its rivals by this 'purpose of distinction' (Simons 2009). Around the world, the company has 14 processing locales and 20 sales associations, which are run from centrally localized strategic areas. In addition to everything else, this applies for the uniform global benchmarks in quality, environment and social matters, worldwide brand administration, a uniform human resources strategy, and clear budgetary controlling principles by means of a corresponding reporting framework. Within these vital guidelines, Faber-Castell keeps up decentralized structures in the three showcasing units of, Latin America, Europe/ North America and Asia. Subsequently the local management team is better positioned to offer flexible responses to the significant business sector prerequisites. Apart from the customary advertising policies, the control instruments of the worldwide corporate exercises are the meetings by world- wide Group Management Committees and Workshop Teams where the vital decisions on the make-up of the product range as well as product developments are made.
The Faber-Castell's Integrated Management System for Quality, Environment and Social incorporated administration framework was introduced in the year 1998 in line with the company’s objective to establish an enduring corporate approach, specifically with regard to product quality, the environment, and social obligations. Apart from preserving natural resources and curbing emissions, the fundamental goals of FABIQUS are the long-term cost savings and hence realize the anticipated long-term social benefits. The administration framework is controlled by way of the FABIQUS Information System (FIS) as a yearly gathering report and offers the following focal points:
Transparent plants information around the world.
The effective identification of optimization potentials as well as the derivation of yearly objectives.
Controlling of the yearly outcomes as achieved by the company.
Likewise, regular procedural audits are normally performed in all plants.
Through FABIQUS, Faber-Castell executes a uniform product quality in all plants and the work is performed as per the internationally accepted standards in regards to environment (ISO 14001:2005), social matters, the earth (ISO 14001:2005), and in the field of work place safety.
Added Value of the Products
Apart from a fabulous item quality, Faber-Castell thinks of it as ceaseless errand to offer the client functional added value within the framework of a versatile product range. Examples that can be offered in this connection include the sharpener incorporated into the pencil extender, the 'filling station' for text liners, and the hold zone or raised specks (Greene 2010). It is the prime goal of the organization lastingly to expand the added value of the items by way of persistent product optimization as well as the development of intelligent solutions. Furthermore, the company has made it a policy to provide an emotional user experience that not only attracts new users to its products but also ensures that the customers get the best taste as value for their loyalty to the company. By pursuing this strategy, which has been described by some analysts as the ‘point of difference’, the company has entrenched its dominance as the leading pencil manufacturer and distributor of all time. Faber-Castell operates within its four core values that form the basis for its logical branding that gives the company its unique identity. These core qualities are called 'brand essentials' and with them clear guidelines have been established for the company, the customers, environment, business partners, and the society (Simon 2005).
The 'brand essentials' of Faber-Castell are focused around the following four domains:
Competence & Tradition
The company utilizes the skills of its workers based on its history, roots, their experience and a constant learning experience that shapes the company’s future in line with its entrepreneurial spirit. This policy guarantees the company a sound know-how to maintain candid leadership, high degree of credibility, and a formidable global distribution and communication network that is based on fair partnerships (Porter 2011).
Outstanding Quality
The company has great determination to remain as the best of its class in all services and products. This is achieved by cultivating a sense of respect for the needs of the regional markets and strict adherence to global market requirements. Indeed, the company comprehends quality as guaranteeing relevant and perceived added value, clear point of distinction, characteristic and timeless design as well as seeking outstanding performance.
Innovation & Creativity
The company regards creativity and innovation as pioneering and offering continuous improvements to present solutions that have relevant benefits to the final consumers. In so doing, the company stimulates its own creativity through dedication and commitment, open working atmosphere as well as an international interdisciplinary working team.
Social & environmental responsibility
In line with the company’s firm policy on social and environmental sustenance, the company has made it a norm to practice its social responsibility within the community, company, and the business partners. This means that the company continually seeks to devise environmentally-friendly processes and materials that contribute to the preservation of the environment. This not only endears the company to more clients but the move also helps in advertising the company’s products across a wide range of the global masses. Indeed, the company leads in reckoning future trend and impacts in the sector and this enables the company to accomplish its obligations and ensure sustainability.
Survival in digital revolution era
Many people expected that the demand for pencils would reduce significantly following the beckoning of the computer era. However, sales have continued to increase for Faber-Castell with an estimated 15 billion worth of sales being made every year. It is notable that the positive development of the company over the last few years has been made possible by the considerable investments in product development that hav...