Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets
The case series focuses on the diverse, innovative approaches taken by major players, domestic and foreign, to establish and grow chains of hypermarkets and supermarkets in India over the past decade, in the context of shifting FDI policies, changing consumer shopping habits, and an evolving food value chain.
Swot Analysis of "Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets" written by James Costantini includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Supermarkets Fork facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Marketing, Supply chain and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions,
technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Supermarkets Fork, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Supermarkets Fork 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Supermarkets Fork
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 Supermarkets Fork
Strengths Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Supermarkets Fork in Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Supermarkets Fork has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Supermarkets Fork to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Supermarkets Fork is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Supermarkets Fork to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Supermarkets Fork to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Supermarkets Fork
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Supermarkets Fork does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Supermarkets Fork 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 James Costantini 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Supermarkets Fork 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Supermarkets Fork 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Supermarkets Fork 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 Supermarkets Fork is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Supermarkets Fork is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Supermarkets Fork 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 Supermarkets Fork in the sector have low bargaining power. Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Supermarkets Fork to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Supermarkets Fork has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Supermarkets Fork 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.
Weaknesses Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Supermarkets Fork 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. Supermarkets Fork 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Supermarkets Fork 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets HBR case study mentions - Supermarkets Fork 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Supermarkets Fork 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Supermarkets Fork 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 - Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Supermarkets Fork 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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 Supermarkets Fork has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Supermarkets Fork 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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 Supermarkets Fork 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, James Costantini suggests that, Supermarkets Fork 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets, 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.
Opportunities Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets | 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Supermarkets Fork 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.
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 Supermarkets Fork 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Supermarkets Fork 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Supermarkets Fork can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Supermarkets Fork operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Supermarkets Fork 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Supermarkets Fork 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Supermarkets Fork to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Supermarkets Fork is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Supermarkets Fork 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, Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Supermarkets Fork 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Supermarkets Fork 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Supermarkets Fork has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Supermarkets Fork to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets case study. Supermarkets Fork can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Supermarkets Fork 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 Supermarkets Fork to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Supermarkets Fork 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. Supermarkets Fork 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.
Threats Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Supermarkets Fork 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets .
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 Supermarkets Fork in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Supermarkets Fork 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets, Supermarkets Fork 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Supermarkets Fork 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Supermarkets Fork 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.
Environmental challenges
– Supermarkets Fork 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. Supermarkets Fork can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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. Supermarkets Fork can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Supermarkets Fork 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.
Increasing wage structure of Supermarkets Fork
– 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 Supermarkets Fork.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Supermarkets Fork with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Supermarkets Fork.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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 Development of Food Retailing in India (C): From Farm to Fork via Supermarkets 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 Supermarkets Fork needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.