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 - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, 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 -
Training and development
– D'ivoire Cote has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
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.
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.
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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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.
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.
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.
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– D'ivoire Cote is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled D'ivoire Cote to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped D'ivoire Cote to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
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 -
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 cash cycle compare to competitors
D'ivoire Cote 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.
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.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, D'ivoire Cote has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. D'ivoire Cote even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire, is just above the industry average. D'ivoire Cote 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of D'ivoire Cote, firm in the HBR case study Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire, it seems that the employees of D'ivoire Cote 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.
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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire, in the dynamic environment D'ivoire Cote has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. D'ivoire Cote has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 -
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.
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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of D'ivoire Cote has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help D'ivoire Cote to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire case study. D'ivoire Cote can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 D'ivoire Cote in the consumer business. Now D'ivoire Cote can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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.
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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help D'ivoire Cote to increase its market reach. D'ivoire Cote 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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, D'ivoire Cote can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that D'ivoire Cote operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Buying journey improvements
– D'ivoire Cote can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire 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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for D'ivoire Cote 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.
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 -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– D'ivoire Cote 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– D'ivoire Cote has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, D'ivoire Cote 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire, D'ivoire Cote 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, D'ivoire Cote 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 Olam: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in Cote d'Ivoire .
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.
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.
