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Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan


Unilever's new Global Brand VP must not only revitalize Lifebuoy soap's sagging market performance, but simultaneously impact the health of one billion people worldwide. The latter challenge comes from Unilever's new CEO who has introduced the Unilever Sustainable Living Program (USLP), a set of bold environmental and social objectives that he has integrated into the heart of the company's global strategy. In contrast to most corporate social responsibility programs, USLP's quantified objectives are clearly defined, tightly specified, and independently audited. And managers are held strictly accountable for their achievement. After describing the background of the 100 year old Lifebuoy soap brand which is now sold primarily in developing country markets, the case outlines the steps taken by Samir Singh, Lifebuoy's newly appointed Global Brand VP as he tries to reverse its declining sales and profit performance. The case then focuses on Singh's relationship with Sudir Sitapiti, the category manager for Lifebuoy in India, the brand's largest market worldwide. Although Sitapiti has done a creditable job in turning around sales and profitability, he has fallen behind on his USLP challenge to bring handwashing behavior change to 450 million people in poor, remote Indian villages. The case concludes with some specific marketing investment decisions that Sitapati is considering and that Singh hopes to influence.

Authors :: Christopher A. Bartlett

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Corporate governance, Customers, Emerging markets, Ethics, Health, Social responsibility, Strategy execution, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan" written by Christopher A. Bartlett includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lifebuoy Unilever's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Customers, Emerging markets, Ethics, Health, Social responsibility, Strategy execution and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lifebuoy Unilever's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lifebuoy Unilever's
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 Lifebuoy Unilever's




Strengths Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Lifebuoy Unilever's in Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– Lifebuoy Unilever's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lifebuoy Unilever's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

High brand equity

– Lifebuoy Unilever's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lifebuoy Unilever's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Organizational Resilience of Lifebuoy Unilever's

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lifebuoy Unilever's 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

– Lifebuoy Unilever's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Learning organization

- Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 Lifebuoy Unilever's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Lifebuoy Unilever's in the sector have low bargaining power. Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Lifebuoy Unilever's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Diverse revenue streams

– Lifebuoy Unilever's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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.

Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 Lifebuoy Unilever's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.






Weaknesses Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan are -

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan, it seems that the employees of Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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 Lifebuoy Unilever's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 - Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Christopher A. Bartlett suggests that, Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Lifebuoy Unilever's products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lifebuoy Unilever's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Lifebuoy Unilever's has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lifebuoy Unilever's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan, 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.

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 Lifebuoy Unilever's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lifebuoy Unilever's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.




Opportunities Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan | 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan are -

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lifebuoy Unilever's 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, Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lifebuoy Unilever's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Lifebuoy Unilever's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lifebuoy Unilever's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan case study. Lifebuoy Unilever's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Lifebuoy Unilever's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lifebuoy Unilever's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lifebuoy Unilever's 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. Lifebuoy Unilever's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lifebuoy Unilever's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lifebuoy Unilever's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.

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. Lifebuoy Unilever's 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. Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.




Threats Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan are -

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Lifebuoy Unilever's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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 Lifebuoy Unilever's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Lifebuoy Unilever's is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Regulatory challenges

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Lifebuoy Unilever's 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan .

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 Lifebuoy Unilever's in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Lifebuoy Unilever's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Lifebuoy Unilever's.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan, Lifebuoy Unilever's 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

– Lifebuoy Unilever's 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. Lifebuoy Unilever's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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 Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan 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 Lifebuoy Unilever's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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