Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods
Six Sigma has become a popular management philosophy adopted by several large companies, including Maple Leaf Foods, as a means of reducing waste systematically. The plant manager at the Rivermede plant is preparing for a meeting with the senior manager to discuss the new initiative Six Sigma @ the Edge. Based on the success of Six Sigma at this plant, it was chosen as a pilot for this new initiative. Students will develop a deeper understanding of Six Sigma and the challenges associated with embedding it in the organization.
Swot Analysis of "Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods" written by P. Fraser Johnson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sigma Leaf facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Human resource management, Managing yourself, Product development and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sigma Leaf, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sigma Leaf 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sigma Leaf
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 Sigma Leaf
Strengths Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sigma Leaf in Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Sigma Leaf has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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 Strategy & Execution field
– Sigma Leaf 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 Sigma Leaf in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sigma Leaf is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sigma Leaf 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sigma Leaf in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Sigma Leaf
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sigma Leaf does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sigma Leaf has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sigma Leaf 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sigma Leaf 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sigma Leaf to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sigma Leaf to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Sigma Leaf is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sigma Leaf in the sector have low bargaining power. Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sigma Leaf to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sigma Leaf 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, P. Fraser Johnson suggests that, Sigma Leaf 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sigma Leaf 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.
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 Sigma Leaf supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sigma Leaf vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods, is just above the industry average. Sigma Leaf 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sigma Leaf 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sigma Leaf products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sigma Leaf needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sigma Leaf 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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 Sigma Leaf 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods, in the dynamic environment Sigma Leaf has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sigma Leaf has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sigma Leaf is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Sigma Leaf 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.
Opportunities Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods | 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sigma Leaf 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sigma Leaf can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sigma Leaf 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Sigma Leaf can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sigma Leaf 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sigma Leaf to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Sigma Leaf can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sigma Leaf has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sigma Leaf to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods case study. Sigma Leaf can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sigma Leaf to increase its market reach. Sigma Leaf 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sigma Leaf 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sigma Leaf is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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.
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. Sigma Leaf 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
– Sigma Leaf 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sigma Leaf 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods are -
Increasing wage structure of Sigma Leaf
– 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 Sigma Leaf.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sigma Leaf 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sigma Leaf 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sigma Leaf is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Sigma Leaf.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods, Sigma Leaf 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 Sigma Leaf business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sigma Leaf 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sigma Leaf can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Sigma Leaf in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sigma Leaf 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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 Six Sigma Implementation at Maple Leaf Foods 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 Sigma Leaf needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.