Case Study Description of Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case)
When students have the English-language PDF of this Brief Case in a coursepack, they will also have the option to purchase an audio version.This case provides students with an opportunity to become familiar with some major strategic issues that firms face when formulating and implementing a sales promotion, including: cannibalization, brand equity erosion, forward-buying, pass-through, and consumer stockpiling. It also provides them an opportunity to utilize retail scanner purchase data in order to evaluate the historical performance of sales promotions. Based on calculating top-line revenue, marketing margin, and return on marketing investment (ROMI) for prior promotions, students can recommend the most financially and strategically defensible initiative from a choice of several competing sales promotions. The setting is the frozen foods category in the consumer packaged goods industry.
Swot Analysis of "Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case)" written by Neeraj Bharadwaj, Phillip D. Delurgio includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Promotions Sales facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Budgeting, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Promotions Sales, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Promotions Sales 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 Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Promotions Sales
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 Promotions Sales
Strengths Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Promotions Sales in Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Promotions Sales to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Promotions Sales to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Promotions Sales is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Promotions Sales is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Promotions Sales digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Promotions Sales 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Promotions Sales 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 Promotions Sales in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Promotions Sales is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Promotions Sales 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 Promotions Sales is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Promotions Sales has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Promotions Sales to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Promotions Sales has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Promotions Sales 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 Neeraj Bharadwaj, Phillip D. Delurgio 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Promotions Sales in the sector have low bargaining power. Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Promotions Sales to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Promotions Sales 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.
Weaknesses Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Promotions Sales is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Promotions Sales 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. Promotions Sales 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) HBR case study mentions - Promotions Sales 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Promotions Sales 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Promotions Sales 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case), is just above the industry average. Promotions Sales 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Promotions Sales 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case), 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) 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 Promotions Sales 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case), in the dynamic environment Promotions Sales has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Promotions Sales 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 Promotions Sales 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 - Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) | 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 Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Promotions Sales is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) 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
– Promotions Sales 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Promotions Sales 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Promotions Sales can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) 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.
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. Promotions Sales 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, Promotions Sales can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Promotions Sales operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Promotions Sales 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.
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 Promotions Sales in the consumer business. Now Promotions Sales can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Promotions Sales 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 Promotions Sales to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Promotions Sales 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Promotions Sales has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Promotions Sales to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) case study. Promotions Sales can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Promotions Sales 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 Promotions Sales 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.
Threats Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) are -
Environmental challenges
– Promotions Sales 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. Promotions Sales can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Promotions Sales has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Promotions Sales 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Promotions Sales 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 Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Promotions Sales with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Promotions Sales in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Promotions Sales 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 Promotions Sales 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Promotions Sales 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. Promotions Sales can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case), Promotions Sales 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Promotions Sales
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Promotions Sales.
Regulatory challenges
– Promotions Sales 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) 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 Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) 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 Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) 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 Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) 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 Giant Consumer Products: The Sales Promotion Resource Allocation Decision (Brief Case) 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 Promotions Sales needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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