Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants
The case illustrates the challenges faced by entrepreneurs launching a new product in a highly competitive market with limited resources. The case is set in 2005 and puts the student in the shoes of Michel and Augustin. Copy and paste the url into a browser http://cases.insead.edu/michel-and-augustin/home to access all case support material (videos, related articles and academic papers)
Swot Analysis of "Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants" written by Hernan A Bruno, Hilke Plassmann includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Augustin Michel facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Augustin Michel, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Augustin Michel 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 Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Augustin Michel
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Augustin Michel
Strengths Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Augustin Michel in Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Augustin Michel is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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.
Organizational Resilience of Augustin Michel
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Augustin Michel does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Augustin Michel to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Augustin Michel to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Augustin Michel 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 Augustin Michel is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Augustin Michel has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Augustin Michel to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Augustin Michel digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Augustin Michel has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Augustin Michel 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Augustin Michel 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 Augustin Michel in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Augustin Michel 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Augustin Michel in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Augustin Michel has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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.
Analytics focus
– Augustin Michel is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Hernan A Bruno, Hilke Plassmann can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Weaknesses Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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 Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Augustin Michel is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Augustin Michel, firm in the HBR case study Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Augustin Michel 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants HBR case study mentions - Augustin Michel takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants, is just above the industry average. Augustin Michel 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Augustin Michel is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants, in the dynamic environment Augustin Michel has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Augustin Michel has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Hernan A Bruno, Hilke Plassmann suggests that, Augustin Michel 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.
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 Augustin Michel supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Augustin Michel vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Augustin Michel has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants | 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 Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants are -
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Augustin Michel can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Augustin Michel 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Augustin Michel 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 Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Augustin Michel to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Augustin Michel can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Augustin Michel 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Augustin Michel to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Augustin Michel to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Augustin Michel can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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.
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 Augustin Michel in the consumer business. Now Augustin Michel can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Augustin Michel can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Augustin Michel can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Augustin Michel operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Augustin Michel 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Augustin Michel is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Augustin Michel can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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.
Threats Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants are -
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. Augustin Michel needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Augustin Michel 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Augustin Michel in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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. Augustin Michel 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Augustin Michel has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Augustin Michel needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Augustin Michel with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Augustin Michel 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. Augustin Michel can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Augustin Michel is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Augustin Michel can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Augustin Michel 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Augustin Michel 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.
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 Augustin Michel in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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 Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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 Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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 Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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 Michel & Augustin Cookies: Culinary Adventurers Competing against Food Industry Giants 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 Augustin Michel needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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