o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons
The chief executive officer (CEO) of a large consumer health conglomerate faces a controversial situation. Loyal consumers of a feminine hygiene product are outraged when they learn that a highly coveted product has been permanently discontinued. Unable to find their favourite brand in stock, consumers create a website and post online petitions to boycott, or rather "girlcott," all products made by the company. The company has already suffered serious consumer, investor and government scrutiny after having experienced more than a dozen product recalls in recent years. The CEO needs to develop a strategy to deal with the mounting consumer anger and public speculation, or risk the negative consequences of a militant, brand savvy, population of female consumers.
Swot Analysis of "o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons" written by Mary Weil, Jana Seijts, Paul Bigus includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Consumers Girlcott facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Consumers Girlcott, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Consumers Girlcott 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Consumers Girlcott
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 Consumers Girlcott
Strengths o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Consumers Girlcott in o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Consumers Girlcott is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Consumers Girlcott in the sector have low bargaining power. o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Consumers Girlcott to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Consumers Girlcott
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Consumers Girlcott does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Consumers Girlcott is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Consumers Girlcott 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 Consumers Girlcott in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Consumers Girlcott 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons - 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 Consumers Girlcott in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Consumers Girlcott has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Consumers Girlcott is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Consumers Girlcott digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Consumers Girlcott 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.
Analytics focus
– Consumers Girlcott 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 Mary Weil, Jana Seijts, Paul Bigus 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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.
Weaknesses o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons HBR case study mentions - Consumers Girlcott takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Consumers Girlcott is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Consumers Girlcott products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Consumers Girlcott needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Consumers Girlcott 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 - o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Consumers Girlcott 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Consumers Girlcott, firm in the HBR case study o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Consumers Girlcott 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. Consumers Girlcott 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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 Consumers Girlcott has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons, in the dynamic environment Consumers Girlcott has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Consumers Girlcott has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Consumers Girlcott is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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 Consumers Girlcott 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons | 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Consumers Girlcott 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.
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. Consumers Girlcott can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Consumers Girlcott 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 Consumers Girlcott to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Consumers Girlcott 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.
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. Consumers Girlcott 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. Consumers Girlcott 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.
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 Consumers Girlcott in the consumer business. Now Consumers Girlcott can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Consumers Girlcott can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Consumers Girlcott can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Consumers Girlcott 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Consumers Girlcott has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Consumers Girlcott to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons case study. Consumers Girlcott 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 Consumers Girlcott can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Consumers Girlcott to increase its market reach. Consumers Girlcott 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Consumers Girlcott 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.
Threats o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons are -
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. Consumers Girlcott can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Consumers Girlcott 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, Consumers Girlcott 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons .
Environmental challenges
– Consumers Girlcott 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. Consumers Girlcott can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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. Consumers Girlcott 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.
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 Consumers Girlcott business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons, Consumers Girlcott 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 .
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 Consumers Girlcott in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Consumers Girlcott.
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. Consumers Girlcott needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Consumers Girlcott 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Consumers Girlcott is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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 o.b The Case of the Missing Tampons 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 Consumers Girlcott needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
