Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond
Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) is a nonprofit fair trade retail organization with a store located in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the store's opening and first two years of operations (2002-2004), Karen, the chair of the board of directors, and Cheryl, the store manager, struggle to develop a customer-focused plan to ensure sales increases for their unique operation. Marketing issues ranging from store location selection to inventory selection and promotion are presented. In addition to covering an alternative method of doing business - nonprofit enterprise - the case provides a platform for customer relationship management (CRM) implementation in a small, nonprofit environment.
Swot Analysis of "Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond" written by Mary Conway Dato-on includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cincinnati Thousand facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cincinnati Thousand, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cincinnati Thousand 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cincinnati Thousand
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 Cincinnati Thousand
Strengths Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cincinnati Thousand in Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cincinnati Thousand has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Cincinnati Thousand is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cincinnati Thousand in the sector have low bargaining power. Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cincinnati Thousand to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cincinnati Thousand is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Cincinnati Thousand 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 Mary Conway Dato-on 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Cincinnati Thousand is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Cincinnati Thousand in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Cincinnati Thousand
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cincinnati Thousand does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond 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.
Learning organization
- Cincinnati Thousand 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 Cincinnati Thousand is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cincinnati Thousand 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond - 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
– Cincinnati Thousand is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Weaknesses Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cincinnati Thousand 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 - Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cincinnati Thousand is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cincinnati Thousand 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. Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cincinnati Thousand, firm in the HBR case study Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Cincinnati Thousand supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cincinnati Thousand vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cincinnati Thousand is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Cincinnati Thousand needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cincinnati Thousand to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond HBR case study mentions - Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Cincinnati Thousand 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond, in the dynamic environment Cincinnati Thousand has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cincinnati Thousand has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond | 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond are -
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. Cincinnati Thousand can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cincinnati Thousand 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cincinnati Thousand to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cincinnati Thousand 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 Cincinnati Thousand to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cincinnati Thousand 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, Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Cincinnati Thousand 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. Cincinnati Thousand 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.
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. Cincinnati Thousand can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cincinnati Thousand 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
– Cincinnati Thousand 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 Cincinnati Thousand can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cincinnati Thousand can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cincinnati Thousand operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cincinnati Thousand 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
– Cincinnati Thousand can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Threats Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond, Cincinnati Thousand 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 .
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cincinnati Thousand 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.
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 Cincinnati Thousand in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cincinnati Thousand with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Cincinnati Thousand 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cincinnati Thousand has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cincinnati Thousand 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 Cincinnati Thousand
– 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 Cincinnati Thousand.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Cincinnati Thousand 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. Cincinnati Thousand can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Cincinnati Thousand needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Cincinnati Thousand 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond 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 Ten Thousand Villages of Cincinnati: The First Year and Beyond 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 Cincinnati Thousand needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
