abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
XPLANE is a design company that creates illustrations for corporate clients. The company aims to distill complex processes into easy-to-grasp illustrations, using visualization techniques which it calls Pictonics. XPLANE was founded in 1993 in St. Louis, Missouri by David Gray as a visual arts company creating graphics for magazines such as Business 2.0 (in particular that magazine's "XPLANATiONS"). It soon expanded into illustrating corporate presentations, business plans, and whitepapers; training; and interactive design.
In 2000, the company was awarded the St. Louis Business Journal Best Places To Work award for People Development. At the time of the award, the company had a policy of flexible working hours and of allowing employees two weeks at full pay every year for workshops, seminars, and training. Other employee perquisites included discussion groups during the day, night classes taught by employees to other and to prospective employees, a weekly party on the company building's roof every Friday after hours, and a massage once per month.[2] The company's headquarters are now located in Portland, Oregon.[5]
On its website, the company hosts two web logs, the xBlog (information on design topics) and the bBlog (business applications of graphic design), and case studies that include graphical user interfaces, statistical maps, and discussions of Internet protocols and brand strategy. The weblogs are run by Knowledge Manager Bill Keaggy, a digital designer who spends between 10 minutes and 2 hours per day on them.
Strengths
* Cost advantage
* Asset leverage
* Effective communication
* High R&D
* Innovation
* Loyal customers
* Market share leadership
* Strong management team
* Strong financial position
* Pricing
Weaknesses
* Bad communication
* Diseconomies to scale
* Low R&D
* Low market share
* Not innovative
* Not diversified
* Weak management team
* Ubiquitiouegory, products, services
Opportunities
* Acquisitions
* Asset leverage
* Financial markets (raise money through debt, etc)
* Emerging markets and expansion abroad
* Innovation
* Online
* Product and services expansion
* Takeovers
Threats
* Competition
* Cheaper technology
* Economic slowdown
* External changes (government, politics, taxes, etc)
* Exchange rate fluctuations
* Lower cost competitors or imports
* Maturing categories, products, or services
* Price wars
In 2000, the company was awarded the St. Louis Business Journal Best Places To Work award for People Development. At the time of the award, the company had a policy of flexible working hours and of allowing employees two weeks at full pay every year for workshops, seminars, and training. Other employee perquisites included discussion groups during the day, night classes taught by employees to other and to prospective employees, a weekly party on the company building's roof every Friday after hours, and a massage once per month.[2] The company's headquarters are now located in Portland, Oregon.[5]
On its website, the company hosts two web logs, the xBlog (information on design topics) and the bBlog (business applications of graphic design), and case studies that include graphical user interfaces, statistical maps, and discussions of Internet protocols and brand strategy. The weblogs are run by Knowledge Manager Bill Keaggy, a digital designer who spends between 10 minutes and 2 hours per day on them.
Strengths
* Cost advantage
* Asset leverage
* Effective communication
* High R&D
* Innovation
* Loyal customers
* Market share leadership
* Strong management team
* Strong financial position
* Pricing
Weaknesses
* Bad communication
* Diseconomies to scale
* Low R&D
* Low market share
* Not innovative
* Not diversified
* Weak management team
* Ubiquitiouegory, products, services
Opportunities
* Acquisitions
* Asset leverage
* Financial markets (raise money through debt, etc)
* Emerging markets and expansion abroad
* Innovation
* Online
* Product and services expansion
* Takeovers
Threats
* Competition
* Cheaper technology
* Economic slowdown
* External changes (government, politics, taxes, etc)
* Exchange rate fluctuations
* Lower cost competitors or imports
* Maturing categories, products, or services
* Price wars