Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century
In July 2001, Campbell Soup's newly appointed CEO, Douglas R. Conant, addressed a group of Wall Street analysts and unveiled his plan to kick-start growth. His plan called for organizational renewal and revitalization, redesign of core customer-facing processes including supply chain, order fulfillment, and customer service of Campbell's U.S. soup business. Condensed soup sales, which represented nearly 50% of the company's total operating profit, had been in decline for several years and the company was slowly losing market share in this core product group as competition intensified. Pressure had mounted from major competitor General Mills, which had recently acquired Pillsbury Co., maker of Campbell's rival soup brand Progresso. .
Swot Analysis of "Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century" written by Lynda M. Applegate, Jamie Ladge includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Soup Campbell's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competition, Leadership, Organizational culture and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Soup Campbell's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Soup Campbell's 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 Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Soup Campbell's
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 Soup Campbell's
Strengths Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Soup Campbell's in Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Soup Campbell's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Organizational Development field
– Soup Campbell's 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 Soup Campbell's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Soup Campbell's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Soup Campbell's are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Soup Campbell's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Soup Campbell's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Soup Campbell's has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Soup Campbell's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Soup Campbell's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Soup Campbell's 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Soup Campbell's in the sector have low bargaining power. Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Soup Campbell's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Soup Campbell's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Soup Campbell's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Soup Campbell's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century are -
Need for greater diversity
– Soup Campbell's 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.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Soup Campbell's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Soup Campbell's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Soup Campbell's 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. Soup Campbell's 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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 Soup Campbell's 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Soup Campbell's is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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 Soup Campbell's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Soup Campbell's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Soup Campbell's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century, is just above the industry average. Soup Campbell's needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Lynda M. Applegate, Jamie Ladge suggests that, Soup Campbell's is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century, in the dynamic environment Soup Campbell's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Soup Campbell's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Soup Campbell's has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century | 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 Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Soup Campbell's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Soup Campbell's 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Soup Campbell's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Soup Campbell's can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Soup Campbell's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Soup Campbell's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Soup Campbell's 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 Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Soup Campbell's 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 Soup Campbell's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Soup Campbell's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Soup Campbell's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century case study. Soup Campbell's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Soup Campbell's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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.
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 Soup Campbell's in the consumer business. Now Soup Campbell's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Soup Campbell's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Soup Campbell's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Organizational Development segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Soup Campbell's can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Soup Campbell's can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Threats Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century, Soup Campbell's 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 .
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Soup Campbell's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Soup Campbell's 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.
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. Soup Campbell's 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.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Soup Campbell's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Soup Campbell's 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Soup Campbell's 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Soup Campbell's is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Soup Campbell's in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Soup Campbell's 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 Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Soup Campbell's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Soup Campbell's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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 Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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 Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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 Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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 Campbell Soup Co.: Transforming for the 21st Century 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 Soup Campbell's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
