Case Study Description of Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies
The case describes an entrepreneurial firm, CoCubes, which has instituted a paradigm change in the way campus recruitment is done in India. In a paradoxical environment of high availability of formally educated, yet not readily employable talent pool in a growing economy and a concomitant challenge faced by all recruiting firms in being able to identify and attract high quality talent, CoCubes offers unique value propositions to a dual set of customers (viz., the colleges and the companies that are recruiting from campuses), only one of which is a paying customer (colleges). Within such an environment, it is critical for CoCubes to effectively manage the engagement with the recruiting companies and try and change their mindset to recruit from non-established non-premier institutes. On the other hand, the colleges have conventionally never paid to get their students placed. Getting colleges to pay is critical for CoCubes to succeed and grow. This necessitates colleges to see value in CoCubes' offerings. In this context, one of the challenges for CoCubes is to find ways to increase the value of its offerings, especially given the emergence of significant competition that is attempting to mimic the CoCubes business model. CoCubes also partners with various companies in enhancing skills of the candidates. With these partners, CoCubes faces the additional challenge of managing partner relationships and developing new product offerings, in order to stay ahead of the competition. All this calls for continual innovation and flawless execution in order to maintain its initial lead over current and emerging competition. The case is ideal for elective courses on Business-to-business Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Product & Services Marketing.
Swot Analysis of "Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies" written by Debolina Dutta, D.V.R. Seshadri includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cocubes Colleges facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cocubes Colleges, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cocubes Colleges
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 Cocubes Colleges
Strengths Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cocubes Colleges in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Debolina Dutta, D.V.R. Seshadri 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Cocubes Colleges is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cocubes Colleges are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Cocubes Colleges
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cocubes Colleges does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cocubes Colleges digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cocubes Colleges 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cocubes Colleges in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes Colleges in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cocubes Colleges is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cocubes Colleges to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cocubes Colleges to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies are -
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 Cocubes Colleges supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cocubes Colleges vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes Colleges 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes Colleges has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cocubes Colleges 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies, in the dynamic environment Cocubes Colleges has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cocubes Colleges has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cocubes Colleges is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Debolina Dutta, D.V.R. Seshadri suggests that, Cocubes Colleges 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cocubes Colleges 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cocubes Colleges is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Cocubes Colleges needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cocubes Colleges to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies HBR case study mentions - Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies | 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cocubes Colleges 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 Cocubes Colleges to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Cocubes Colleges 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cocubes Colleges 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Cocubes Colleges 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cocubes Colleges 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cocubes Colleges can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Cocubes Colleges 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. Cocubes Colleges 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Cocubes Colleges can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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.
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 Cocubes Colleges in the consumer business. Now Cocubes Colleges can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Cocubes Colleges 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cocubes Colleges 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.
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. Cocubes Colleges can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cocubes Colleges is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cocubes Colleges 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.
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. Cocubes Colleges needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Cocubes Colleges in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cocubes Colleges has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cocubes Colleges 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.
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. Cocubes Colleges can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cocubes Colleges is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies, Cocubes Colleges 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cocubes Colleges 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.
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 Cocubes Colleges business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cocubes Colleges with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Cocubes Colleges 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. Cocubes Colleges can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cocubes Colleges 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes.com Connecting. Colleges. Companies 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 Cocubes Colleges needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.