Case Study Description of Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray
Incorporated in 2012, Mukunda Foods Private Limited (Mukunda) was an Indian robotics company that focused on innovative, internet-enabled smart devices for use in home and industrial kitchens. These devices could be controlled with a smartphone application. Mukunda started as the manufacturer of the DosaMatic, an automatic tabletop machine that made dosas (a popular Indian food). The machine was targeted at the industrial market. Mukunda's chief executive officer had to design the marketing strategy for the April 2016 launch of the company's range of ready-made batters aimed at the consumer market. Subsequently, the company planned to launch the consumer version of its DosaMatic machine. The chief executive officer was aware that the consumer market posed challenges different from the industrial market in terms of product and branding decisions, pricing, promotion, and distribution. He also knew that as a start-up, Mukunda could not match larger competitors in their distribution and promotional spending, especially given that Mukunda was simultaneously developing several new products (such as automated roti- and curry-making machines), which required consistent investments in research and development. What was the best strategy for Mukunda's unique circumstances? Meenakshi Nagarajan is affiliated with Goa Institute of Management. Arun Kumar is affiliated with New Delhi Instititute of Management.
Swot Analysis of "Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray" written by Meenakshi Nagarajan, Arun Kumar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mukunda Dosamatic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mukunda Dosamatic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mukunda Dosamatic 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 Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mukunda Dosamatic
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 Mukunda Dosamatic
Strengths Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mukunda Dosamatic in Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mukunda Dosamatic 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 Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mukunda Dosamatic is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray 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
– Mukunda Dosamatic has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray 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.
Organizational Resilience of Mukunda Dosamatic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mukunda Dosamatic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Mukunda Dosamatic 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 Meenakshi Nagarajan, Arun Kumar 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Mukunda Dosamatic is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mukunda Dosamatic has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mukunda Dosamatic is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mukunda Dosamatic in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mukunda Dosamatic in the sector have low bargaining power. Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mukunda Dosamatic to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Weaknesses Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mukunda Dosamatic 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 - Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mukunda Dosamatic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Mukunda Dosamatic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mukunda Dosamatic to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray, in the dynamic environment Mukunda Dosamatic has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mukunda Dosamatic has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray, is just above the industry average. Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mukunda Dosamatic, firm in the HBR case study Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mukunda Dosamatic products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mukunda Dosamatic needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray HBR case study mentions - Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Opportunities Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray | 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 Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray are -
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 Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mukunda Dosamatic has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mukunda Dosamatic to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray case study. Mukunda Dosamatic can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mukunda Dosamatic 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 Mukunda Dosamatic to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Mukunda Dosamatic can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mukunda Dosamatic 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, Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mukunda Dosamatic can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mukunda Dosamatic 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, Mukunda Dosamatic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray 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.
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. Mukunda Dosamatic 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. Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mukunda Dosamatic can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mukunda Dosamatic can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mukunda Dosamatic operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Threats Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray are -
Environmental challenges
– Mukunda Dosamatic 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. Mukunda Dosamatic can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mukunda Dosamatic with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Mukunda Dosamatic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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. Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mukunda Dosamatic 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 Mukunda Dosamatic in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mukunda Dosamatic is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mukunda Dosamatic has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Increasing wage structure of Mukunda Dosamatic
– 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 Mukunda Dosamatic.
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 Mukunda Dosamatic business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mukunda Dosamatic 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 Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mukunda Dosamatic 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray 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 Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray 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 Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray 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 Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray 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 Mukunda Foods Private Limited: The Consumer Market Foray 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 Mukunda Dosamatic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
