Case Study Description of Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A)
The Pizza Public Co. Ltd. (PPCL) is a division of the Minor Group of Companies that focuses on the management and operation of food service outlets. Takes place between November 1999 and February 2000 and covers the negotiation process between PPLC and Tricon Restaurants USA regarding the renewal of the company's franchise agreement for Pizza Hut in Thailand. After 20 years of managing the brand, an agreement cannot be reached and PPLC must plan for the development of a new pizza brand.
Authors :: Michael R. Pearce, Kathleen E. Slaughter, Elizabeth O'Neil
Swot Analysis of "Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A)" written by Michael R. Pearce, Kathleen E. Slaughter, Elizabeth O'Neil includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pizza Pplc facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Negotiations and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pizza Pplc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pizza Pplc 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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pizza Pplc
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 Pizza Pplc
Strengths Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pizza Pplc in Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Pizza Pplc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pizza Pplc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pizza Pplc 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Pizza Pplc has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Pizza Pplc 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Pizza Pplc 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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pizza Pplc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pizza Pplc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Pizza Pplc 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 R. Pearce, Kathleen E. Slaughter, Elizabeth O'Neil 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.
Training and development
– Pizza Pplc has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Pizza Pplc 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pizza Pplc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pizza Pplc 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 Pizza Pplc in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Pizza Pplc 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 Pizza Pplc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) 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 Pizza Pplc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A), in the dynamic environment Pizza Pplc has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Pizza Pplc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pizza Pplc is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael R. Pearce, Kathleen E. Slaughter, Elizabeth O'Neil suggests that, Pizza Pplc 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) HBR case study mentions - Pizza Pplc 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A), it seems that the employees of Pizza Pplc 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A), is just above the industry average. Pizza Pplc 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, Pizza Pplc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Pizza Pplc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Pizza Pplc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Pizza Pplc to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Pizza Pplc 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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 Pizza Pplc 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) are -
Loyalty marketing
– Pizza Pplc 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Pizza Pplc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pizza Pplc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pizza Pplc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pizza Pplc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Pizza Pplc 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 Pizza Pplc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Pizza Pplc 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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Pizza Pplc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Pizza Pplc 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Pizza Pplc 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, Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pizza Pplc 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pizza Pplc 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.
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 Pizza Pplc in the consumer business. Now Pizza Pplc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Pizza Pplc 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. Pizza Pplc 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pizza Pplc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pizza Pplc to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) case study. Pizza Pplc can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pizza Pplc is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Pizza Pplc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Pizza Pplc.
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. Pizza Pplc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Pizza Pplc 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Pizza Pplc 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.
Increasing wage structure of Pizza Pplc
– 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 Pizza Pplc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Pizza Pplc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pizza Pplc 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.
Environmental challenges
– Pizza Pplc 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. Pizza Pplc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pizza Pplc 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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (A) .
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Pizza Pplc 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.
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 Pizza Pplc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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 Pizza Public Co. Ltd., Thailand (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 Pizza Pplc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.