Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets
Godrej, a Fast Moving Commercial Goods (FMCG) company in India, historically known for its refrigerators in the Indian market, contemplated launching a new product for rural markets. Chotukool was an unconventional cooling solution targeted at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) segment in India. More than 80 percent of the population in India does not own refrigerators and 50 percent of the population earns less than US$2 per day. The study tracks Godrej's journey of disruptive innovations from the conception of the idea to the marketing challenges faced by the company. It also focuses at length on how the organization plans to execute two parallel business models, one aimed at the consumers of traditional refrigerators while the other one simultaneously targets current non-consumers. The case focuses on the management challenge of innovating across the value chain in order to succeed at social innovations.
Authors :: Charles Dhanaraj, Balasubrahmanyam Suram, Prasad Vemuri
Swot Analysis of "Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets" written by Charles Dhanaraj, Balasubrahmanyam Suram, Prasad Vemuri includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Refrigerators Chotukool facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Refrigerators Chotukool, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Refrigerators Chotukool
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 Refrigerators Chotukool
Strengths Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Refrigerators Chotukool in Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Refrigerators Chotukool has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Refrigerators Chotukool to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Refrigerators Chotukool is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Refrigerators Chotukool digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Refrigerators Chotukool in the sector have low bargaining power. Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Refrigerators Chotukool to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Refrigerators Chotukool is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Refrigerators Chotukool in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Refrigerators Chotukool to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Refrigerators Chotukool to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Refrigerators Chotukool has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Refrigerators Chotukool is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Training and development
– Refrigerators Chotukool has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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.
Weaknesses Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Refrigerators Chotukool 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
– Refrigerators Chotukool has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Lack of clear differentiation of Refrigerators Chotukool products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Refrigerators Chotukool needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets, it seems that the employees of Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets HBR case study mentions - Refrigerators Chotukool takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Charles Dhanaraj, Balasubrahmanyam Suram, Prasad Vemuri suggests that, Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Refrigerators Chotukool is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Refrigerators Chotukool needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Refrigerators Chotukool to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Refrigerators Chotukool is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Refrigerators Chotukool is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets | 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Refrigerators Chotukool in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Refrigerators Chotukool can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Refrigerators Chotukool can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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.
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. Refrigerators Chotukool can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Refrigerators Chotukool has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Refrigerators Chotukool to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets case study. Refrigerators Chotukool can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Refrigerators Chotukool 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, Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Refrigerators Chotukool is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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.
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 Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Refrigerators Chotukool to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Threats Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Refrigerators Chotukool is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Refrigerators Chotukool with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Refrigerators Chotukool business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Refrigerators Chotukool has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
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 Refrigerators Chotukool in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
Environmental challenges
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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. Refrigerators Chotukool can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Refrigerators Chotukool 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.
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. Refrigerators Chotukool 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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 Godrej Chotukool: A Cooling Solution for Mass Markets 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 Refrigerators Chotukool needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
