ABSTRACT
All organizations today are worried about competition in the industry because almost all competing companies provide similar products and services. To get ahead in the race, any project discussed with a customer is accepted without paying attention to the details of what the customer actually wants. Even if there is only a narrow match of the service provider organization services to the customer needs, they are sold aggressively to the service receiver organization. One of the core reasons for this is because all of these organizations are in competition in the red ocean, and everyone wants to maximize their business without thinking about the side effects of such an act. Winning a contract in a red ocean is quite difficult to predict because the factors determining the win cannot be determined easily and, most of the time, predictions go wrong in a red ocean. Some organizations win contracts in a red ocean by quoting to customers that they have everything the customer needs, some with the good work they have done in the past, some with relationships, some with their organization’s brand value, some win because of a major cost advantage they provide to their customer, and so on. However, the success of such a win in a red ocean is never consistent and permanent. I have come across several cases where an organization has won a major deal in the first year and, in the second year, these contracts were transferred to another provider; the reason for such a shift is not known in many cases. Although success can be demonstrated initially, the failures emerging from competing in a red ocean always affect long-term growth, sustainability, and customer relationships.
