Case Study Description of See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A)
See's Candies is a prestigious West Coast candy manufacturer. The first decision is whether See's should consider an expansion into Japan, particularly in view of their earlier Japan failure. If so, which of three potential partners should See's choose: JAL Trading Co., M.A.T., a small importer of Hawaiian host chocolates, or the Bank of Tokyo?
Authors :: David B. Montgomery, Scott B. Bekemeyer, Kelko Tanaka
Swot Analysis of "See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A)" written by David B. Montgomery, Scott B. Bekemeyer, Kelko Tanaka includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that See's Candies facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the See's Candies, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which See's Candies 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of See's Candies
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 See's Candies
Strengths See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of See's Candies in See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– See's Candies is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– See's Candies 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that See's Candies 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.
Organizational Resilience of See's Candies
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that See's Candies does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– See's Candies is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For See's Candies digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. See's Candies 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of See's Candies in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– See's Candies has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled See's Candies to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– See's Candies 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 See's Candies in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- See's Candies 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 See's Candies is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– See's Candies has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled See's Candies to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped See's Candies to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, See's Candies 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. See's Candies 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of See's Candies products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, See's Candies 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A), in the dynamic environment See's Candies has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. See's Candies has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– See's Candies 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of See's Candies is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. See's Candies needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help See's Candies to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, See's Candies has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A), is just above the industry average. See's Candies 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 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 See's Candies supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left See's Candies vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though See's Candies 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 - See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as See's Candies is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) 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 See's Candies 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) | 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, See's Candies 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, See's Candies can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that See's Candies operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
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. See's Candies 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. See's Candies 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.
Loyalty marketing
– See's Candies 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.
Manufacturing automation
– See's Candies 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– See's Candies 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help See's Candies to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– See's Candies 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for See's Candies 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 See's Candies to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 See's Candies 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.
Buying journey improvements
– See's Candies can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) 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. See's Candies can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. See's Candies can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at See's Candies 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.
Threats See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) are -
Increasing wage structure of See's Candies
– 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 See's Candies.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– See's Candies has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, See's Candies 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.
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 See's Candies in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– See's Candies 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.
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. See's Candies 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 See's Candies 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.
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. See's Candies needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– See's Candies 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A), See's Candies 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 .
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 See's Candies business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of See's Candies.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that See's Candies is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents See's Candies with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) 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 See's Candies: Japanese Market Entry (A) 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 See's Candies needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.