Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.Describes Olam's development of a sustainable cotton supply chain in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa. Key dilemma for its managers: feasibility of introducing tractor technology for improving yield.
Swot Analysis of "Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire" written by V. Kasturi Rangan, Nina Ann George includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that D'ivoire Cote facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economics, Technology and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the D'ivoire Cote, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which D'ivoire Cote 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of D'ivoire Cote
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 D'ivoire Cote
Strengths Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of D'ivoire Cote in Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of D'ivoire Cote in the sector have low bargaining power. Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps D'ivoire Cote to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– D'ivoire Cote 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– D'ivoire Cote 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– D'ivoire Cote 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 D'ivoire Cote in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– D'ivoire Cote 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
– D'ivoire Cote has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. D'ivoire Cote 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
– D'ivoire Cote is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of D'ivoire Cote in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For D'ivoire Cote digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. D'ivoire Cote 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.
Organizational Resilience of D'ivoire Cote
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that D'ivoire Cote does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- D'ivoire Cote 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 D'ivoire Cote is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the D'ivoire Cote 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.
Weaknesses Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire are -
Lack of clear differentiation of D'ivoire Cote products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, D'ivoire Cote needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, D'ivoire Cote is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, D'ivoire Cote 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.
Need for greater diversity
– D'ivoire Cote 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though D'ivoire Cote 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 - Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, D'ivoire Cote 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, D'ivoire Cote 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire, 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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 D'ivoire Cote has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at D'ivoire Cote 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, V. Kasturi Rangan, Nina Ann George suggests that, D'ivoire Cote 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.
Opportunities Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire | 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, D'ivoire Cote 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, Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, D'ivoire Cote is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for D'ivoire Cote 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 D'ivoire Cote to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at D'ivoire Cote 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.
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. D'ivoire Cote can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. D'ivoire Cote can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– D'ivoire Cote 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, D'ivoire Cote 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– D'ivoire Cote 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.
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. D'ivoire Cote 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. D'ivoire Cote 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
– D'ivoire Cote 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects D'ivoire Cote can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 D'ivoire Cote 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.
Threats Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire are -
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 D'ivoire Cote in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of D'ivoire Cote
– 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 D'ivoire Cote.
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 D'ivoire Cote business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on D'ivoire Cote 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– D'ivoire Cote 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for D'ivoire Cote 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.
Environmental challenges
– D'ivoire Cote 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. D'ivoire Cote 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 D'ivoire Cote is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. D'ivoire Cote 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.
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. D'ivoire Cote can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. D'ivoire Cote needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 D'ivoire Cote.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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 D'ivoire Cote needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.