Case Study Description of Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization
The general manager, sales, of Marico Industries Ltd. India, is thinking about the future of the company's central sales organization (CSO). The central sales organization has been around for five years and has met all its original objectives. However, with a rapidly changing industry, the very success of the CSO is making it seem less relevant for the future. He must decide if this is true, or if the CSO could transform itself to cater to the changing needs of the Indian fast-moving consumer goods market.
Swot Analysis of "Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization" written by Srinivas Sridharan, Chandra Sekhar Ramasastry includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cso Marico facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Sales and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cso Marico, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cso Marico operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cso Marico
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cso Marico
Strengths Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cso Marico in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Cso Marico is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Cso Marico in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Cso Marico is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Cso Marico is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Cso Marico is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Cso Marico has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cso Marico in the sector have low bargaining power. Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cso Marico to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cso Marico has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Cso Marico is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cso Marico has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cso Marico has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cso Marico to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cso Marico to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cso Marico in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cso Marico is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cso Marico is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cso Marico has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Need for greater diversity
– Cso Marico has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cso Marico is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Cso Marico 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cso Marico has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cso Marico is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Cso Marico needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cso Marico to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cso Marico has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cso Marico products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cso Marico needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Cso Marico has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cso Marico has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Cso Marico even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cso Marico, firm in the HBR case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cso Marico has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cso Marico to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cso Marico in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Cso Marico can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cso Marico to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cso Marico can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cso Marico is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cso Marico can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cso Marico can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Organizational Development segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cso Marico to increase its market reach. Cso Marico will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Loyalty marketing
– Cso Marico has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cso Marico can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cso Marico operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Cso Marico to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Cso Marico in the consumer business. Now Cso Marico can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cso Marico is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Cso Marico will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Environmental challenges
– Cso Marico needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Cso Marico can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Organizational Development industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cso Marico high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cso Marico in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cso Marico can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cso Marico can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Cso Marico can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cso Marico with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Cso Marico.
Regulatory challenges
– Cso Marico needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Organizational Development industry regulations.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization, Cso Marico may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cso Marico demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Marico Industries Ltd. Central Sales Organization is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Cso Marico needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
