×




Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker!


Describes how to manage the pricing process so that your product or service does not become a commodity, and so that you have substantial price latitude. Designed for sales, marketing, and general managers responsible for price making and related activities.

Authors :: Benson P. Shapiro

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

Tags :: Marketing, Pricing, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker!" written by Benson P. Shapiro includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Price Commodity facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc



12 Hrs

$59.99
per Page
  • 100% Plagiarism Free
  • On Time Delivery | 27x7
  • PayPal Secure
  • 300 Words / Page
  • Buy Now

24 Hrs

$49.99
per Page
  • 100% Plagiarism Free
  • On Time Delivery | 27x7
  • PayPal Secure
  • 300 Words / Page
  • Buy Now

48 Hrs

$39.99
per Page
  • 100% Plagiarism Free
  • On Time Delivery | 27x7
  • PayPal Secure
  • 300 Words / Page
  • Buy Now







Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker!


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Price Commodity, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Price Commodity 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Price Commodity
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 Price Commodity




Strengths Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Price Commodity in Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! Harvard Business Review case study are -

Organizational Resilience of Price Commodity

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Price Commodity does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry

– Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Price Commodity to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Price Commodity to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Price Commodity 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Price Commodity 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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 Price Commodity in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Strong track record of project management

– Price Commodity is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Price Commodity has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Price Commodity 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.

High brand equity

– Price Commodity has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Price Commodity to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Price Commodity in the sector have low bargaining power. Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Price Commodity to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Price Commodity digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Price Commodity 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.

Learning organization

- Price Commodity 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 Price Commodity is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.






Weaknesses Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! are -

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker!, is just above the industry average. Price Commodity 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Price Commodity is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Price Commodity 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Price Commodity 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Price Commodity 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker!, it seems that the employees of Price Commodity 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Price Commodity 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Price Commodity 's lucrative customers.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Price Commodity is planning to shift buying processes online.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Price Commodity is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Price Commodity needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Price Commodity to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker!, in the dynamic environment Price Commodity has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Price Commodity has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.




Opportunities Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! | 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! are -

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Price Commodity is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Price Commodity 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Price Commodity 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 Price Commodity can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Price Commodity 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Price Commodity has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Price Commodity to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! case study. Price Commodity can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Price Commodity 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.

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 Price Commodity in the consumer business. Now Price Commodity can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Buying journey improvements

– Price Commodity can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Price Commodity 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, Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker!, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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 Price Commodity 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 Price Commodity 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 Price Commodity to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Price Commodity to increase its market reach. Price Commodity 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.




Threats Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! are -

Environmental challenges

– Price Commodity 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. Price Commodity can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker!, Price Commodity 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 .

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 Price Commodity in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Price Commodity in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Price Commodity 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! .

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. Price Commodity can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Regulatory challenges

– Price Commodity 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.

Increasing wage structure of Price Commodity

– 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 Price Commodity.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Price Commodity is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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

– Price Commodity 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.

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 Price Commodity 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 Price Commodity.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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 Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker! 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 Price Commodity needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



--- ---

Lay's Potato Chips in Hungary (A): Creating Awareness and Building Brand Image at Product Launch SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix

Miguel Brendl, Prashant Malaviya, Srivastava Swati, Szocs Laslo , Sales & Marketing


Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny (A), Chinese Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix

Mihir A. Desai, Kathleen Luchs, Alberto Moel , Finance & Accounting


Walt Disney Co.: The Entertainment King, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix

Michael G. Rukstad, David J. Collis, Tyrrell Levine , Strategy & Execution


Tavazo Co. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix

Paul W. Beamish, Majid E. Zarch , Global Business


Jacques Kemp: "Towards Performance Excellence" SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix

Roderick E. White, Andreas Schotter , Organizational Development


Protect Your Project From Escalating Doubts SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix

Karen A. Brown, Nancy L. Hyer, Richard Ettenson , Strategy & Execution


Xbox Launch in Korea SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix

Michaela Draganska, Frederic Descamps, Christopher Pennya , Sales & Marketing


McDuffy, Arms & Ginsberg SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix

Jay W. Lorsch , Leadership & Managing People