RFID-based Entry into the German B2B Parcel Market and its Effect on Competitive Strategies, Prices and Market Shares: The Case of Red Parcel Post

University of Zurich - Institute for Strategy and Business Economics - Working Paper No. 84

28 Pages Posted: 9 Jul 2008 Last revised: 25 Feb 2015

See all articles by Helmut M. Dietl

Helmut M. Dietl

University of Zurich - Department of Business Administration (IBW)

Markus Lang

University of Lausanne

Martin Lutzenberger

University of Zurich - Department of Business Administration (IBW)

Stephan M. Wagner

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Chair of Logistics Management

Date Written: October 17, 2009

Abstract

This paper analyzes the market entry of Red Parcel Post, a new player in the German Business-to-Business (B2B) parcel market. Currently there are four large service providers in the German B2B parcel market. Each of these incumbent providers operates - albeit with varying degrees of automation - with a classical multi-hub-and-spoke network. Red Parcel Post plans to enter the B2B parcel market with a completely new parcel delivery system for the delivery of B2B parcels throughout Germany based on a new transport network design, and RFID- and GPS-based operations. Such operations shall enable the entrant to offer new services to potential customers and realize lower costs and prices than the established firms. We describe the market and contrast the incumbents' and the entrant's business strategies. Moreover, we develop a model to analyze the effect of the entrant's market entry on competitive strategies, market shares, prices, costs and profits. First, we solve the game-theoretic model analytically to derive qualitative results. In a second step, we simulate market entry and competition by calibrating the model with data from the German B2B market illustrating the impact of market entry in various scenarios.

Keywords: Market entry, incumbent, competitive strategies, market shares, B2B parcel market, Cournot model, calibration

Suggested Citation

Dietl, Helmut M. and Lang, Markus and Lutzenberger, Martin and Wagner, Stephan M., RFID-based Entry into the German B2B Parcel Market and its Effect on Competitive Strategies, Prices and Market Shares: The Case of Red Parcel Post (October 17, 2009). University of Zurich - Institute for Strategy and Business Economics - Working Paper No. 84, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1156002 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1156002

Helmut M. Dietl

University of Zurich - Department of Business Administration (IBW) ( email )

Hottingerstrasse 10
Plattenstrasse 14
Zurich, 8032
Switzerland

Markus Lang (Contact Author)

University of Lausanne ( email )

Quartier UNIL-Centre
Synathlon
Lausanne, 1015
Switzerland

Martin Lutzenberger

University of Zurich - Department of Business Administration (IBW) ( email )

Hottingerstrasse 10
Plattenstrasse 14
Zurich, 8032
Switzerland

Stephan M. Wagner

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Chair of Logistics Management ( email )

Department of Management, Technology and Economics
Weinbergstrasse 56/58
Zurich, 8092
Switzerland
+41 44 632 3259 (Phone)
+41 44 632 1526 (Fax)

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