Case Study Description of Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?
The technical director of Shimla Dairy Products, a government-licensed food manufacturer, has spent time working in the cheese industry in Australia. He has returned to India with new skills and ideas to share with the company. Cheese is a fairly new product in India and he must decide how best to take advantage of the growth potential in the Indian cheese market. He must consider issues of marketing, branding, production processes, operations, and customer focus.
Swot Analysis of "Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?" written by Michael Rouse, Navin John includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cheese Shimla facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Manufacturing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cheese Shimla, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cheese Shimla 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cheese Shimla
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 Cheese Shimla
Strengths Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cheese Shimla in Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cheese Shimla is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Cheese Shimla has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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.
Organizational Resilience of Cheese Shimla
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cheese Shimla does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Cheese Shimla 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 Cheese Shimla is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Cheese Shimla 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 Michael Rouse, Navin John 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cheese Shimla has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cheese Shimla 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Cheese Shimla is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cheese Shimla is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Cheese Shimla 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 Cheese Shimla 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 Cheese Shimla 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 Cheese Shimla in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Cheese Shimla 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?, it seems that the employees of Cheese Shimla don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cheese Shimla, firm in the HBR case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Cheese Shimla 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cheese Shimla is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?, is just above the industry average. Cheese Shimla 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cheese Shimla 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Cheese Shimla has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cheese Shimla products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cheese Shimla needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?, in the dynamic environment Cheese Shimla has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cheese Shimla has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? | 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cheese Shimla 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cheese Shimla to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cheese Shimla can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Cheese Shimla can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cheese Shimla can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cheese Shimla operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Cheese Shimla 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cheese Shimla has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cheese Shimla to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? case study. Cheese Shimla can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Cheese Shimla 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cheese Shimla 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cheese Shimla 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cheese Shimla 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 Cheese Shimla to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cheese Shimla 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, Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Cheese Shimla 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. Cheese Shimla 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cheese Shimla 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.
Threats Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth?, Cheese Shimla may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cheese Shimla has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cheese Shimla 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cheese Shimla 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cheese Shimla with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cheese Shimla 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.
Environmental challenges
– Cheese Shimla 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. Cheese Shimla can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Cheese Shimla needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cheese Shimla 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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 Cheese Shimla business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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. Cheese Shimla 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cheese Shimla 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Shimla Dairy Products Private Ltd., India: Poised for Growth? 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 Cheese Shimla needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.