Swot Analysis of "U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet" written by George S. Yip includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Assignment Coffee facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Demographics, Financial markets, Forecasting, Marketing, Research & development and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Assignment Coffee, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Assignment Coffee 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Assignment Coffee
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 Assignment Coffee
Strengths U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Assignment Coffee in U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Assignment Coffee is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Assignment Coffee is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Assignment Coffee has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Assignment Coffee 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Assignment Coffee is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Assignment Coffee is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Assignment Coffee 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 Assignment Coffee in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Assignment Coffee 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 Assignment Coffee is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Assignment Coffee 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Assignment Coffee in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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.
Analytics focus
– Assignment Coffee 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 George S. Yip 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Assignment Coffee 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet - 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, George S. Yip suggests that, Assignment Coffee 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Assignment Coffee is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet, 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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 Assignment Coffee has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet HBR case study mentions - Assignment Coffee 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 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 Assignment Coffee supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Assignment Coffee vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet, in the dynamic environment Assignment Coffee has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Assignment Coffee has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Assignment Coffee 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Assignment Coffee 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Assignment Coffee is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Assignment Coffee is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Assignment Coffee needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Assignment Coffee to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet | 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Assignment Coffee 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Assignment Coffee is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Assignment Coffee 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.
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. Assignment Coffee can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Assignment Coffee 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Assignment Coffee 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 Assignment Coffee 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Assignment Coffee has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Assignment Coffee to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet case study. Assignment Coffee can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Assignment Coffee 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Assignment Coffee 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Assignment Coffee 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, U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Assignment Coffee 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Assignment Coffee to increase its market reach. Assignment Coffee 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Assignment Coffee can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Threats U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet are -
Environmental challenges
– Assignment Coffee 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. Assignment Coffee can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Assignment Coffee is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Assignment Coffee 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.
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 Assignment Coffee business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Assignment Coffee 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet, Assignment Coffee 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Assignment Coffee has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Assignment Coffee 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.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Assignment Coffee will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
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 Assignment Coffee in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Assignment Coffee 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Assignment Coffee 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.
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 Assignment Coffee.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Assignment Coffee with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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 U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet 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 Assignment Coffee needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
