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Should Lincoln Electric ( Le ) Expand Into The Indian Market? Essay

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1. Should Lincoln Electric (LE) expand into the Indian market by investing in a major production facility there? The decision to expand into the Indian market by investing in production facilities must be supported by the desired market entry strategy, in conjunction with market requirements, expected demand profile and the regional manufacturing footprint (ref Figure 3). Key manufacturing options to support market entry include in leveraging LE’s regional manufacturing capability in Indonesia & China, OEM/outsourced manufacturing, new facilities, or other JV/partnership manufacturing arrangements (ref Figure 4). ‘In market’ manufacturing would provide greater flexibility with shorter lead times and lower distribution costs, but would require upfront capital outlay and therefore be a higher risk and more inflexible entry strategy. The key challenge to ‘in market’ manufacturing is balancing capacity with demand as the speed and effectiveness of the market entry over time, which is somewhat uncertain. The risk of overcapacity is considered an opportunity cost of capital, while the risk of under capacity is lost sales and market share. Co-investment and joint venture manufacturing arrangements can help lower capital costs and leverage existing local capability, however, this approach also needs to consider the risk of IP loss and lower management control. In contrast, leveraging LE existing Indonesia & China manufacturing capability via an import model would lower upfront

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