Proposed Business Strategy for Publishing Company (Case Study: CV Gema Usaha in Solo)

Abstract

CV Gema Usaha is a company running in book publishing industry, provides school books for junior high school, high school, and vocational school in Indonesia. For the past 3 years (2016-2018) the company has been suffering from some problems that affect the business sustainability. Looking from the internal perspectives, the company has high inventory, lacking in human resources, and high receivables which affect the business at CV Gema Usaha. This condition causes a value-reducing for the company. To be able to survive in the publishing industry, improvements need to be made to their business strategy. Business strategy improvement is proposed based on internal and external analysis. An evaluation of the business model currently applied is also carried out by analyzing the current business model canvas. This study uses qualitative methods using primary data and secondary data. The results of internal and external analysis produce SWOT analysis which is then used to propose strategic solutions in the form of TOWS matrix and new business model. The strategy proposed for the company is to adapt the integrated cost leadership and differentiation business strategy, and shift the publishing business model from a conventional publishing to a base on demand model, by implementing the long tail business model that is equipped with a multi-sided platform. This strategy is expected to solve the main problem of the company namely high inventories, low in cash, and limited human resources.