The internal resources, capabilities, or competencies of Home Depot that seem to need upgrading or improvement as Bob Nardelli becomes the CFO are the saturation of stores in suburban areas from accelerated growth, the lack of IT resources and service deficiencies, and the layout of the stores. In terms of the "Internal Building Blocks of Competitive Advantage", superior efficiency was hurt by store saturation and the lack of IT resources, and superior customer responsiveness was hurt by the poor service and poor layouts. The "VRINE" model shows that all of …show more content…
This will help with competitive advantage by not saturating the suburban areas with too many Home Depot stores. Another strategy was the new service program that had employees allocate the maximum amount of time to helping customers and then restocking shelves at night. This will gain competitive advantage, or at least parity, through giving greater customer service throughout all the stores. Information Technology was improved through computer systems and self checkouts in stores which helped with store-to-store interactions and customer satisfaction of not having to wait in long lines. Store layouts were changed to improve customer satisfaction through ideas such as lowering displays to eye level and paint centers where customers could get advice and color match. Installation services in some stores allowed customers to get professional service at Home Depot and also helped facilitate relationships with contractors and professionals. These relationships helped spur the creation of the Home Depot Pro stores which catered specifically to professionals and had many knowledgeable store assistants employed. Another strategic initiative was the expansion into new markets such as Canada, Mexico, and even urban areas. All of these initiatives helped to improve customer service and satisfaction and helped to facilitate growth in a means different from