Tennant Company: Can Chemical-free Be a Pathway to Competitive Advantage Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

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Companies in every industry are trying to reduce their use of chemicals, in particular, synthetic organic compounds, where there is a perception of harm to human health or the environment. Industrial and commercial floor-cleaning equipment industry is no exception, and many equipment manufacturers are striving to reduce their use of harsh chemicals such as cleaning solvents, oil. But every competitor pursuing similar greening efforts in mature markets, firms find it difficult to differentiate their offering to customers. Tennant Company decided to differentiate itself through technology-driven business strategy, based on a chemical free cleaning. Instead of reducing the use of harsh chemicals cleaning, or sharpness reduction of these chemicals, Tennant offers its customers a cleaning solution that used ionized tap water to clean and disinfect surfaces, eliminating the harsh chemicals in general. Client benefits were many, including lower total cost of ownership and improving health and safety, while maintaining the effectiveness of treatment compared with conventional chemical-based products. This case helps to illustrate the problem of benefit beyond additional "greening" efforts (aimed at doing less damage) to offer disruptive step changes in environmental activities as a central argument for the value proposition of the company. "Hide
by Garima Sharma, Chris Laszlo, Eric Ahern, Indrajeet Ghatge Source: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation 15 pages. Publication Date: March 19, 2012. Prod. #: W12808-PDF-ENG