Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B)
In 1999, Procter & Gamble (P&G) witnessed its first share increase against rival Kimberly-Clark (K-C) in the U.S. disposable diaper sector in five years. However, Sam's Club de-listed P&G's Pampers from most of its stores that August, limiting its diaper offerings to K-C's Huggies and its own private label brand White Cloud, introduced that same year. By mid-2000, P&G's stock had lost more than half its value, and the nature of the company's "special relationship" with Wal-Mart was being called into question.This case is a supplement to UV4013.
Authors :: Paul W. Farris, Mark Parry, Richard Johnson
Swot Analysis of "Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B)" written by Paul W. Farris, Mark Parry, Richard Johnson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Diaper G's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Diaper G's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Diaper G's 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Diaper G's
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 Diaper G's
Strengths Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Diaper G's in Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Diaper G's 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Diaper G's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Diaper G's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Diaper G's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Diaper G's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Diaper G's 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Diaper G's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Diaper G's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Diaper G's in the sector have low bargaining power. Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Diaper G's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Diaper G's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Diaper G's 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 Diaper G's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Diaper G's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Diaper G's 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Diaper G's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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.
Weaknesses Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Diaper G's has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Diaper G's 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Diaper G's needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Diaper G's 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 - Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Diaper G's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) HBR case study mentions - Diaper G's 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Paul W. Farris, Mark Parry, Richard Johnson suggests that, Diaper G's 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Diaper G's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Diaper G's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B), in the dynamic environment Diaper G's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Diaper G's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Diaper G's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Diaper G's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) | 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Diaper G's 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 Diaper G's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Diaper G's 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Diaper G's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Diaper G's 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.
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. Diaper G's 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. Diaper G's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Diaper G's 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.
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 Diaper G's in the consumer business. Now Diaper G's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Diaper G's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Diaper G's 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Diaper G's to increase its market reach. Diaper G's 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Diaper G's 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Diaper G's 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
– Diaper G's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Diaper G's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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.
Threats Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B), Diaper G's 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Diaper G's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Diaper G's 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.
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. Diaper G's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Diaper G's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Diaper G's
– 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 Diaper G's.
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 Diaper G's in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Diaper G's 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Diaper G's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Diaper G's 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Diaper G's 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.
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 Diaper G's.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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 Procter & Gamble, Private-Label Brands, and the Wal-Mart Partnership (B) 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 Diaper G's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.