Unlike companies that define their business strategy primarily through product differentiation, per the prior blog, Nucor focuses intently on cost leadership.
Nucor's product include the following - steel bars, flat-rolled steel sheets, steel beams and pilings, steel plates, rebar, steel mesh, grates and fasteners, steel joists, girders, steel deck and custom-ordered steel buildings (metal sided sheds, warehouses, etc.). This industry is not particularly focused on product differentiation, as steel is steel, with a variable being size, shape, weight and finish, all of which are fairly standardized for building purposes.
Nucor does invest and innovate in ways to more cost effectively produce these products, but the products themselves are not differentiated from competitors products by product customization unique to each customer or technological advances within the product. The main differentiator for potential buyers is first and foremost, price. After that, assumptions can be made that selection by customers is based on name brand/reputation and likely, availability of the product.
The idea that a company can be both a cost leader and product differentiator may be true, though it seems that the product differentiation must occur before the cost leadership aspect can be added. For Nucor, cost leadership is the key, and the company is organized to that end.
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