Case Study Description of Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision
In 2009, the Mahindra Group, a US$16.3 billion multinational corporation based in Mumbai, India, had introduced a new positioning called "Rise" to provide meaning to its brand and help unite its various businesses under a common umbrella. Successful integration and implementation of the new positioning required the company to re-examine its brand architecture, which was currently a complex, insidea??out arrangement that resulted in a diffused image. Aligning diverse and legacy businesses would be a complex task, and resources were limited. A clear brand architecture would not only help the company to efficiently allocate advertising dollars but could also help in identifying investment opportunities and risks among the different sub-brands. Landor Associates India, a global brand consulting firm, was tasked by the board to suggest a relevant brand architecture model that would be relevant across geographies. Should the Mahindra brand be used by all businesses, products and services? Should the company follow a conglomerate approach and create a "house of brands" as P&G and Unilever had done, or should it follow a hybrid strategy? Ashita Aggarwal Sharma is affiliated with SP Jain Institute of Management & Research.
Swot Analysis of "Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision" written by Ashita Aggarwal Sharma, Lulu Raghavan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mahindra Architecture facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Design and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mahindra Architecture, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mahindra Architecture 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mahindra Architecture
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 Mahindra Architecture
Strengths Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mahindra Architecture in Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mahindra Architecture is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Mahindra Architecture is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Mahindra Architecture has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mahindra Architecture to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Mahindra Architecture
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mahindra Architecture does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mahindra Architecture is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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.
Training and development
– Mahindra Architecture has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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.
Analytics focus
– Mahindra Architecture 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 Ashita Aggarwal Sharma, Lulu Raghavan 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mahindra Architecture 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Mahindra Architecture 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 Mahindra Architecture is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mahindra Architecture 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mahindra Architecture in the sector have low bargaining power. Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mahindra Architecture to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mahindra Architecture has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mahindra Architecture 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.
Weaknesses Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Mahindra Architecture products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mahindra Architecture needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mahindra Architecture is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mahindra Architecture 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision, it seems that the employees of Mahindra Architecture 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mahindra Architecture 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 - Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mahindra Architecture is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mahindra Architecture 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Mahindra Architecture 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision, 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision, in the dynamic environment Mahindra Architecture has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mahindra Architecture has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mahindra Architecture, firm in the HBR case study Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision | 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mahindra Architecture 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 Mahindra Architecture 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 Mahindra Architecture to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Mahindra Architecture 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mahindra Architecture can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mahindra Architecture operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
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 Mahindra Architecture 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.
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. Mahindra Architecture 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. Mahindra Architecture 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mahindra Architecture is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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
– Mahindra Architecture 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mahindra Architecture 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mahindra Architecture to increase its market reach. Mahindra Architecture will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mahindra Architecture 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mahindra Architecture to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mahindra Architecture has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mahindra Architecture to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision case study. Mahindra Architecture can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mahindra Architecture 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.
Threats Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mahindra Architecture is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Mahindra Architecture 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.
Increasing wage structure of Mahindra Architecture
– 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 Mahindra Architecture.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mahindra Architecture 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mahindra Architecture 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.
Environmental challenges
– Mahindra Architecture 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. Mahindra Architecture can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mahindra Architecture has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mahindra Architecture 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.
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 Mahindra Architecture business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mahindra Architecture 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mahindra Architecture 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.
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 Mahindra Architecture.
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 Mahindra Architecture 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. Mahindra Architecture needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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 Mahindra "Rise": A Brand Architecture Decision 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 Mahindra Architecture needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
