IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture
Amitabha needs to define the market strategy for IDEI, an NGO selling low-cost irrigation products to the bottom of the pyramid, to ensure sustainability (to make it as independent as possible of funding). The fundamental questions are how to set up the supply chain and what price to charge for the products.
Swot Analysis of "IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture" written by Annelies Deleersnyder, Philip Parker includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Pyramid Bottom facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Market research, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Pyramid Bottom, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Pyramid Bottom 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Pyramid Bottom
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 Pyramid Bottom
Strengths IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Pyramid Bottom in IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Pyramid Bottom is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Pyramid Bottom is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Pyramid Bottom in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Pyramid Bottom is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Pyramid Bottom 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 Annelies Deleersnyder, Philip Parker 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Pyramid Bottom to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Pyramid Bottom to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Pyramid Bottom 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.
Organizational Resilience of Pyramid Bottom
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Pyramid Bottom does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Pyramid Bottom 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 Pyramid Bottom in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Pyramid Bottom 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Pyramid Bottom has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Pyramid Bottom digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Pyramid Bottom 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.
Weaknesses IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Pyramid Bottom is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture, it seems that the employees of Pyramid Bottom 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Pyramid Bottom, firm in the HBR case study IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Pyramid Bottom 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. Pyramid Bottom 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Pyramid Bottom has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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 Pyramid Bottom has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Pyramid Bottom is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Pyramid Bottom 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Annelies Deleersnyder, Philip Parker suggests that, Pyramid Bottom 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture HBR case study mentions - Pyramid Bottom 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Pyramid Bottom 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture | 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture are -
Manufacturing automation
– Pyramid Bottom 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Pyramid Bottom can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Pyramid Bottom to increase its market reach. Pyramid Bottom 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.
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 Pyramid Bottom in the consumer business. Now Pyramid Bottom can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Pyramid Bottom 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Pyramid Bottom 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 Pyramid Bottom to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Pyramid Bottom 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Pyramid Bottom has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Pyramid Bottom to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture case study. Pyramid Bottom can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Pyramid Bottom 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Pyramid Bottom 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.
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. Pyramid Bottom can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Pyramid Bottom 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Pyramid Bottom 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.
Threats IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Pyramid Bottom with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Pyramid Bottom 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 wage structure of Pyramid Bottom
– 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 Pyramid Bottom.
Environmental challenges
– Pyramid Bottom 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. Pyramid Bottom can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Pyramid Bottom 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture .
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 Pyramid Bottom 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.
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 Pyramid Bottom.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture, Pyramid Bottom 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 .
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. Pyramid Bottom needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Pyramid Bottom can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Pyramid Bottom business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Pyramid Bottom 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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 IDE-India (B): To the Bottom of the Pyramid in Agriculture 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 Pyramid Bottom needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
