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 - – geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, 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 -
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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Finney Jobe in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Finney Jobe has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Finney Jobe 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.
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.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Finney Jobe 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.
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Finney Jobe is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Finney Jobe 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 Finney Jobe is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Finney Jobe is planning to shift buying processes online.
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.
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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Finney Jobe is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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.
Need for greater diversity
– Finney Jobe 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.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis, is just above the industry average. Finney Jobe needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Sherry Finney suggests that, Finney Jobe 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Finney Jobe has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
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.
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 -
Buying journey improvements
– Finney Jobe can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis 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.
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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Finney Jobe has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Finney Jobe to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis case study. Finney Jobe can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Finney Jobe 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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Finney Jobe can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Finney Jobe operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
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.
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 -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Finney Jobe has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Finney Jobe 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Finney Jobe is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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 Finney Jobe business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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. Finney Jobe needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Finney Jobe 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 By-the-Sea Biscuit Company: A Decision in New Venture Analysis .
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. Finney Jobe can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.