Cement is one of the most important raw materials used in the construction industry and find use in a range of constructions like small houses and causeways to housing projects and multilane bridges. Business Wire reports that the global cement industry is expected to rise to over USD 725 billion with a expected increase in demand at the rate of 7.3 percent. The factors like increase in industrialization and expansion of urban settlements are boosting the industry (Businesswire.com, 2018). The aim of the task would be delving into the marketing mix of a multinational cement company through through lenses of CEMEX, which is domiciled in Mexico (Cemexusa.com, 2018). The paper would apply the theory of marketing mix to explore how the company meet the requirements of customers and operates in the market profitably.
The product strategy of CEMEX is extremely customers oriented and facilitates the company to serve an array of clients. It can be pointed out that CEMEX is a multinational company listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange which operate in more than ten countries across Asia, North America, Europe and South America. Thus, it can be pointed out from the product umbrella of the company that its product strategy rests on catering to construction projects in these markets of diverse scale. The company takes into consideration these needs of different categories of clients (Porter & Heppelmann, 2015). For example, the company provides cement for small scale projects. However, in order to meet the needs of the multinational and expensive construction projects, the company also sells a variety of supporting products or accessory products. The accessory products consists of variety of building rocks, blocks, architecture products and asphalt. The company through its diverse products caters to different product range is able to support infrastructural developments in its important host markets like the United States of America. CEMEX aims to position itself as the a superior cement and building materials marketer capable of serving both small scale construction projects as well as expensive road construction projects in the US (Ruteši? et al., 2015).
The United States of America is a developed economy with continuous increase of demand for diverse types of cement to support its ever increasing infrastructural needs. The following are main types of cement which CEMEX markets in the United States of America:
Portland cement is the most widely used variety of cement used in different construction works in mixture with other building materials. The chief attribute of Portland cement is adaptability and ability to mix with different types of building materials to attribute the concrete with strong base. The Portland cement offered by CEMEX is of very high quality and comes in waterproof packaging bearing the logo of CEMEX (Schöler et al., 2015).
The main attribute of blast-furnace cement is its 95 percent granulated blast furnace slag and gypsum in small amounts. The main market of this category of high quality cement is civil construction industry due to the high compressive strength of the cement. However, the strength is reduced due to increase in the proportion of slag (Shu & Huang, 2014).
The Portland-fly ash cement contains fly ash with low water concentration. The main markets of this quality of cement are the civil construction projects which require early hardening. The fly ash cement is cheaper than Portland cement and often finds use in low budget construction projects. This type of cement is of extremely high quality and packaged in air tight and water proof containers bearing the logo of CEMEX.
The supplementary products of CEMEX consist of allied services like landscaping and block as well as asphalt. The main competitors of CEMEX are Lafarge, Holcim and Heidelberg Cement.
The main objective of pricing strategy which the marketing team of CEMEX wants to achieve catering to the needs of a large number of consumers to ensure high revenue generation. This is evident from the product strategy of CEMEX. The multinational Mexican cement company provides diverse types of cement and allied products to meet the needs of the diverse types ofd customers. For example, to cater to the needs of the small scale projects, the company provides cement (Schöler et al., 2015). The company in order to cater to the needs of the large government run projects, the road construction, the company offers asphalt whereas in order to cater to the needs of the property development projects, the company offers rocks and blocks for landscaping purposes. Thus, it can be inferred from the very discussion of the product offerings of CEMEX that the company is able to cater to diverse customers, thus generating immense revenue (Pangdaeng et al., 2014).
The distribution and supply chain strategy of CEMEX consist of direct presence as well as presence through agents. The company operates in its main markets through wholly owned subsidiaries. CEMEX operates in countries where it has no direct presence through supply chains (Celik et al., 2015).
Conclusion:
It can be concluded from the discussion that CEMEX is a leader in the American market owing its powerful marketing mix. However, the company must aim to expand its business in Asia to take the advantage of emerging construction industry. The company should aim at acquiring more projects in these markets. Further, it can also be recommended that CEMEX should also aim at expanding into Africa to a greater extent and aim to participate in projects which have involvement of either its home country government or the American government. It can also be recommended that the company must open wholly owned subsidiaries in countries like China. This is because its competitors like Lafarge already have presence in these markets in form of wholly owned subsidiaries listed on the top stock exchanges in these markets. Thus, opening of wholly owned subsidiaries would enable the multinational cement manufacturing company to strengthen its presence in these countries. Further, it would also enable the company to make its supply chain shorter and more profitable.
References:
Businesswire.com. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180223005279/en/Global-Cement-Market-2017-2025-Size-Share-Application
Celik, K., Meral, C., Gursel, A. P., Mehta, P. K., Horvath, A., & Monteiro, P. J. (2015). Mechanical properties, durability, and life-cycle assessment of self-consolidating concrete mixtures made with blended portland cements containing fly ash and limestone powder. Cement and Concrete Composites, 56, 59-72.
Cemexusa.com. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.cemexusa.com/products-and-services/cement
Pangdaeng, S., Phoo-ngernkham, T., Sata, V., & Chindaprasirt, P. (2014). Influence of curing conditions on properties of high calcium fly ash geopolymer containing Portland cement as additive. Materials & Design, 53, 269-274.
Porter, M. E., & Heppelmann, J. E. (2015). How smart, connected products are transforming companies. Harvard Business Review, 93(10), 96-114.
Ruteši?, S., ?etkovi?, J., Kneževi?, M., Žarkovi?, M., & Vatin, N. (2015). Institutional framework, current investments and future strategic direction for development of construction sector in Montenegro. Procedia Engineering, 117, 637-645.
Schöler, A., Lothenbach, B., Winnefeld, F., & Zajac, M. (2015). Hydration of quaternary Portland cement blends containing blast-furnace slag, siliceous fly ash and limestone powder. Cement and Concrete Composites, 55, 374-382.
Schöler, A., Lothenbach, B., Winnefeld, F., & Zajac, M. (2015). Hydration of quaternary Portland cement blends containing blast-furnace slag, siliceous fly ash and limestone powder. Cement and Concrete Composites, 55, 374-382.
Shu, X., & Huang, B. (2014). Recycling of waste tire rubber in asphalt and portland cement concrete: An overview. Construction and Building Materials, 67, 217-224.
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