Case Study Description of Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness
Nutricia's Middle East and African region is transitioning from a trading to a customer focus. CEO Ernest Vandenbussche must decide how to market infant milk formula most effectively in a region where the information environment is much less rich than in other countries/sectors and in which managers are concerned about measuring the effectiveness of their commercial actions. Among the most immediate decisions they need to make is the size of the salesforce--a decision that must be made in the context of a commercial strategy that is not yet fully defined. As Nutricia defines its strategy, it also has to define the strategic control systems it will use to monitor and fine-tune the strategy moving forward.
Swot Analysis of "Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness" written by F. Asis Martinez-Jerez, Rachel Sha includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nutricia Measuring facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Health, IT, Performance measurement, Sales, Strategy execution and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nutricia Measuring, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nutricia Measuring
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 Nutricia Measuring
Strengths Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nutricia Measuring in Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nutricia Measuring is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nutricia Measuring 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.
Learning organization
- Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Measuring is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nutricia Measuring in the sector have low bargaining power. Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nutricia Measuring to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Nutricia Measuring is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Nutricia Measuring has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nutricia Measuring in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Nutricia Measuring
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nutricia Measuring does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Measuring in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Nutricia Measuring 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 F. Asis Martinez-Jerez, Rachel Sha 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nutricia Measuring is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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.
Weaknesses Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez, Rachel Sha suggests that, Nutricia Measuring is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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 Nutricia Measuring 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nutricia Measuring 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nutricia Measuring, firm in the HBR case study Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness HBR case study mentions - Nutricia Measuring 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nutricia Measuring 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Nutricia Measuring 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Nutricia Measuring products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness, in the dynamic environment Nutricia Measuring has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nutricia Measuring is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Nutricia Measuring needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness | 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nutricia Measuring can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nutricia Measuring operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Measuring to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nutricia Measuring has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nutricia Measuring to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness case study. Nutricia Measuring can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nutricia Measuring 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Nutricia Measuring 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nutricia Measuring 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, Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nutricia Measuring in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nutricia Measuring 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Nutricia Measuring can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nutricia Measuring 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.
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. Nutricia Measuring can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Nutricia Measuring can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nutricia Measuring to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness are -
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness, Nutricia Measuring 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness .
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. Nutricia Measuring can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Nutricia Measuring in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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 Nutricia Measuring.
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. Nutricia Measuring 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nutricia Measuring 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. Nutricia Measuring 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 Nutricia Measuring 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Nutricia Measuring 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.
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 Nutricia Measuring business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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 Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness 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 Nutricia Measuring needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.