Asia Pacific Resources Ltd. Alliance Strategic Research

This thesis provides a reference example for iron ore trade enterprises in developing supply chain alliance through the strategy study of APAC Resources Limited. It also provides an analysis case for the domestic strategic alliance practice. The iron ore trade enterprises should take the market opportunity of the consistent demand on imported iron ore, which is supported by the continuous development of China iron and steel industry. They need develop their core competiveness in the steep competitive environment. They could reinforce their own resources and ability through an alliance with the mining companies in upstream or the iron and steel enterprises in downstream. They are able to obtain the long-term stable iron ore resources and the customer resources through the alliance. They may achieve the goal of sharing the benefits and the win-win cooperation within the alliance members.This thesis consists of seven chapters. The first chapter is the introduction of the significance of the theme, the logical frame and the content, the method of study, the possible innovation and insufficiency. The second chapter explains the concept of iron ore industry, iron ore import trade, strategic alliance and strategic shareholders, and introduces the international and domestic theory summary of strategic alliance. The third chapter makes the detailed analysis on the external environment of APAC Resources Limited, including the analysis of macro environment by using PESTEL frame (politics, economy, society, technology, environment and law), and the analysis of iron ore import industry by using value chain theory, the industrial life cycle model and Porter's Five Force model. The fourth chapter makes the analysis on the internal resources and ability of APAC Resources Limited by using the resource-based theory, including the visible and invisible resources and ability. It also discovers the core resources and ability by using VRIO frame. The fifth chapter makes the analysis on the strength, weakness, opportunities and the threats of APAC Resources Limited by using SWOT model, then chose the alliance strategy as the superior company strategy based on the comparison between the alliance strategy and the non-alliance strategy. The sixth chapter makes the analysis on the alliance strategy implementation of APAC Resources Limited, including the partner selection, the alliance conformity and achievements, the conflict solution and withdrawing procedure, the corporate internal management system (flow, organizational structure and human resources management). The seventh chapter proposed the policy suggestion, the further study direction and the conclusion.This thesis might have some innovation in the strategic alliance mode, which is choosing the upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain as the alliance objects, and building the bridge connection between the upstream and downstream through the contractual alliance with the upstream enterprises and the equity alliance with the downstream enterprises. The alliance members may gain the benefits from the alliance that was not able to obtain alone. It is also a special way of alliance to let the downstream enterprises to be the company's strategic shareholders, which will realize the benefit colligation of alliance members. This thesis has the insufficiency in the quantitative study on the alliance achievements.