Swot Analysis of "Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version" written by Adam Brandenburger, Maryellen Costello, Julia Kou includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nutrasweet Sweetener facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Intellectual property and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions,
wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nutrasweet Sweetener, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nutrasweet Sweetener
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 Nutrasweet Sweetener
Strengths Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nutrasweet Sweetener in Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Adam Brandenburger, Maryellen Costello, Julia Kou 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nutrasweet Sweetener is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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.
High brand equity
– Nutrasweet Sweetener has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Nutrasweet Sweetener to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Nutrasweet Sweetener has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Nutrasweet Sweetener is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Nutrasweet Sweetener has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Nutrasweet Sweetener is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nutrasweet Sweetener to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nutrasweet Sweetener to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Nutrasweet Sweetener, firm in the HBR case study Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nutrasweet Sweetener is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Nutrasweet Sweetener supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Nutrasweet Sweetener vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Opportunities Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version | 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version are -
Loyalty marketing
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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, Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
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. Nutrasweet Sweetener can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nutrasweet Sweetener to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nutrasweet Sweetener has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nutrasweet Sweetener to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version case study. Nutrasweet Sweetener can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nutrasweet Sweetener to increase its market reach. Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nutrasweet Sweetener can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nutrasweet Sweetener operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nutrasweet Sweetener 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, Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Nutrasweet Sweetener has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nutrasweet Sweetener needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Nutrasweet Sweetener business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nutrasweet Sweetener is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nutrasweet Sweetener with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version, Nutrasweet Sweetener 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Nutrasweet Sweetener 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. Nutrasweet Sweetener can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Co. vs. NutraSweet (E), Spanish Version 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 Nutrasweet Sweetener needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
