Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia
BIG PASTURE Animal Husbandry Company (Group) Co., Ltd. (BIG PASTURE) had achieved great success after nearly 10 years of development. It had started as a ready-to-eat food processing factory that supplied individually owned stores and franchises with self-produced food. Since then, its product line was extended to include fresh and processed beef and mutton. At the same time, BIG PASTURE undertook a major shift from company-operated stores to community convenience stores, further fostering its community economy. However, since the rapid development of e-commerce had contributed toward the success of many local sellers in China, BIG PASTURE saw the possibility of a breakthrough. Thus, the major challenges facing the company included creating a national market through e-commerce and developing community economies. Xiaokui Huang is affiliated with Inner Mongolia University.
Authors :: Xiaokui Huang, Miao Cui, Liqin Zhang, Ke Wang
Swot Analysis of "Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia" written by Xiaokui Huang, Miao Cui, Liqin Zhang, Ke Wang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pasture Mongolia facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pasture Mongolia, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pasture Mongolia 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pasture Mongolia
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 Pasture Mongolia
Strengths Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pasture Mongolia in Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Pasture Mongolia is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Pasture Mongolia has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia 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 Pasture Mongolia
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pasture Mongolia does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Pasture Mongolia is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Analytics focus
– Pasture Mongolia 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 Xiaokui Huang, Miao Cui, Liqin Zhang, Ke Wang 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
– Pasture Mongolia 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 Pasture Mongolia in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Pasture Mongolia in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Pasture Mongolia has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
High brand equity
– Pasture Mongolia has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Pasture Mongolia to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Pasture Mongolia in the sector have low bargaining power. Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Pasture Mongolia to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Pasture Mongolia 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 Pasture Mongolia is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia, is just above the industry average. Pasture Mongolia 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Pasture Mongolia 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Pasture Mongolia 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 - Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Pasture Mongolia supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Pasture Mongolia vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pasture Mongolia, firm in the HBR case study Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia, 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Pasture Mongolia 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Pasture Mongolia is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Pasture Mongolia needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Pasture Mongolia to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia, it seems that the employees of Pasture Mongolia 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Xiaokui Huang, Miao Cui, Liqin Zhang, Ke Wang suggests that, Pasture Mongolia 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia HBR case study mentions - Pasture Mongolia 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia | 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Pasture Mongolia 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Pasture Mongolia 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Pasture Mongolia is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Pasture Mongolia 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Pasture Mongolia to increase its market reach. Pasture Mongolia will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
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. Pasture Mongolia can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Pasture Mongolia can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Pasture Mongolia 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Pasture Mongolia to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Pasture Mongolia in the consumer business. Now Pasture Mongolia can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Pasture Mongolia 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.
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 Pasture Mongolia 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Pasture Mongolia can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Pasture Mongolia operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Pasture Mongolia 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.
Threats Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia are -
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. Pasture Mongolia needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Pasture Mongolia is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Pasture Mongolia 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Pasture Mongolia has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Pasture Mongolia 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia, Pasture Mongolia 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 .
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 Pasture Mongolia business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Pasture Mongolia.
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
– Pasture Mongolia 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. Pasture Mongolia can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Pasture Mongolia 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Pasture Mongolia 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, Pasture Mongolia 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia .
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 Pasture Mongolia in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia 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 Channel Change at the BIG PASTURE in Inner Mongolia 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 Pasture Mongolia needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
