SANTANDER

Santander's Strategic Operations Management

Table of Contents

Introduction2

Market Position3

Business and Operational Strategy3

Critical Assessment5

Critical Appraisal of Layout6

Critical Appraisal of Process Type8

Critical Appraisal of Technologies9

Critical Appraisal of Value Chain and Quality11

Conclusion12

Santander's Strategic Operations Management

Introduction

Santander began its operations as the first bank in the European region and now it has been established as one of the largest networks in the international banking with branches around the world. It is pre-dominantly a retail bank with the headquarters being located in the country of Spain, having presence in the top ten dominant markets catering to the customers in the arena. It is ranked among the top 15 financial institutions of the world when compared on the basis of Market Capitalisation (http://www.santander.co.uk/).

Banco Santander was founded in the year 1857 which is now involved in funds management, managing billions of clients' funds. Santander's network comprise of around 15,000 branches and offices worldwide. With 193,000 employees and shareholder base of around 3.3 million, it is regarded as one of the most prominent financial institutions in Spain and Latin America ((http://www.santander.co.uk/). It enjoys reputable position in other significant regions with its shares being listed on major stock markets. The gross income is seen as increasing when compared across its previous three years operations. Comparing current record with that of the same period in the year 2011, Santander has recorded a growth of 3.7% in gross income and 3% in that of the net operating income. These growths comprehensively indicate the influence of Santander in the international banking arena.

Market Position

The position of Santander in the international banking arena cannot be ignored with their significant market share. The feat could not have been achieved without careful strategic planning. The strategic direction Santander chose in the earlier years of its operations was retail banking in the international market which Santander followed by employing the element of diversification in its retail banking segment. This positioned Santander as market leader in the retail banking on the basis of differentiation triggered through extensive geographical diversification in international retail banking market. Thus as a result, growth and consistent increase in the value delivery is experienced by Santander. Value further increased as Santander achieved recognition in the global financial sector through registering an increment of 24 billion euros in the last five years in the return to its shareholders. In the year 2011, in response to the stringent market conditions Santander improved its balance sheet by introducing changes into its capital account and through strengthening its credit quality. This step was taken so as to comply with the new capital requirements standard enacted by the regulatory bodies, national as well as international in addition to the compliance with the dynamics of the external environment (Lamb et al., 1984).

Business and Operational Strategy

The business strategy of Santander is designed while keeping in mind their core business segment which pre-dominantly encompasses Santander's Retail Banking activities. Santander has defined their business strategy around the provision of retail banking services and the undertaking of retail banking activities through their extensive network of branches they ...