By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis
Paul Finney and Pat Jobe, long-time friends and future business partners, are proposing the establishment of a frozen biscuit manufacturing operation in the now defunct Clearwater Seafood plant in North Sydney, Nova Scotia. Cape Breton Innovation and Research Council (CBIRC), a private corporation, had recently assumed ownership of the plant and wanted to expand and develop local business by creating an incubator within the facility. Finney and Jobe presented a business proposal to CBIRC in August 2006 and the organization was very excited and believed the idea had promise. Finney and Jobe, although convinced of the merits of the product concept, still had some questions that needed answering before they could make a final assessment on the feasibility of the business. Both were employed full-time and the decision to leave their jobs to pursue this business was not a decision that could be made lightly. The case includes detail on the market structure and demand within the bakery/frozen dough industry. Additionally, the proposed marketing mix, selected target markets, and production/operation plans are covered in depth. Finney and Jobe now need to sift through the information and make a decision on the market size and sales potential for By-the-Sea Biscuit Company. The immediate task facing Finney and Jobe is to determine the sales potential for By-the-Sea Biscuit Company. Based on the projected sales and expenses, the partners must also make an assessment on the feasibility of the business.
Swot Analysis of "By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis" written by Sherry Finney includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Finney Jobe facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Financial analysis, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Finney Jobe, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Finney Jobe 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Finney Jobe
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 Finney Jobe
Strengths By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Finney Jobe in By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Finney Jobe is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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)
– Finney Jobe 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Finney Jobe is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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.
Analytics focus
– Finney Jobe 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 Sherry Finney 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
– Finney Jobe 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Finney Jobe has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Finney Jobe digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Finney Jobe 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Finney Jobe 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.
High brand equity
– Finney Jobe has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Finney Jobe to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Finney Jobe
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Finney Jobe does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Finney Jobe is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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 Finney Jobe has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Finney Jobe 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Finney Jobe is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Finney Jobe needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Finney Jobe to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Finney Jobe 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Finney Jobe, firm in the HBR case study By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis, 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis, in the dynamic environment Finney Jobe has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Finney Jobe has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Finney Jobe 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Finney Jobe 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. Finney Jobe 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 Finney Jobe products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Finney Jobe needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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 Finney Jobe 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis | 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis are -
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 Finney Jobe in the consumer business. Now Finney Jobe can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Finney Jobe 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Finney Jobe is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Finney Jobe can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Finney Jobe 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Finney Jobe 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Finney Jobe 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.
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. Finney Jobe can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Finney Jobe 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, By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Finney Jobe can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Finney Jobe 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Finney Jobe 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Finney Jobe to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Finney Jobe to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Threats By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis are -
Environmental challenges
– Finney Jobe 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. Finney Jobe can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Finney Jobe 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Finney Jobe 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. Finney Jobe 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.
Increasing wage structure of Finney Jobe
– 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 Finney Jobe.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Finney Jobe 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Finney Jobe with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis, Finney Jobe 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 .
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 Finney Jobe.
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. Finney Jobe 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 Finney Jobe 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 Finney Jobe 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.
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 Finney Jobe in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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 Finney Jobe needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.