Swot Analysis of "Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B)" written by David J. Collis, Robert M. Grant includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Birds Eye facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial markets, Mergers & acquisitions and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Birds Eye, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Birds Eye 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Birds Eye
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Birds Eye
Strengths Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Birds Eye in Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Birds Eye
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Birds Eye does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Birds Eye digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Birds Eye 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Birds Eye is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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.
Analytics focus
– Birds Eye 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 David J. Collis, Robert M. Grant 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Birds Eye has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Birds Eye 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 Birds Eye in the sector have low bargaining power. Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Birds Eye to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Birds Eye to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Birds Eye to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Birds Eye 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) - 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
– Birds Eye 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Birds Eye is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Birds Eye 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.
Weaknesses Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Birds Eye is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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 Birds Eye has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Birds Eye 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Birds Eye is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Birds Eye needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Birds Eye to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Birds Eye is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Birds Eye, firm in the HBR case study Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Birds Eye 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 - Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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 Birds Eye 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Birds Eye 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. Birds Eye 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.
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 Birds Eye supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Birds Eye vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B), is just above the industry average. Birds Eye 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.
Opportunities Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) | 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) are -
Buying journey improvements
– Birds Eye can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Birds Eye 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, Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Birds Eye can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Birds Eye in the consumer business. Now Birds Eye can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Birds Eye has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Birds Eye to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) case study. Birds Eye can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Birds Eye 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. Birds Eye 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
– Birds Eye can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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 Birds Eye to increase its market reach. Birds Eye 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Birds Eye 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 Birds Eye to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Birds Eye 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.
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. Birds Eye can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Birds Eye in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Birds Eye 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B), Birds Eye may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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 Birds Eye business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Birds Eye 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Birds Eye 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Birds Eye is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Birds Eye in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline 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. Birds Eye needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Birds Eye 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
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. Birds Eye 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Birds Eye 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Birds Eye with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Birds Eye.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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 Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B) 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 Birds Eye needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
