JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy
The director of JMD Oils, an edible oils firm, is considering the strategic options to drive his company to the next level of sales and profitability. The business has been showing a steady performance, but he feels that it could improve substantially. To increase profits, the director could increase sales volumes or increase gross margins. An increase in volume could be achieved by increasing the geographical footprint, which would require setting up additional factories. Increasing the margins would require a shift from a dealer push strategy to a consumer pull strategy, which could be achieved by brand building. The director needs to estimate returns from brand building and geographical expansion. The financial risks for each are different and the implementation challenges complicate the decision. What strategy will gain the confidence of investors and yield the best results for JMD Oils in the long term? Sakhhi Chhabra is affiliated with Management Development Institute. Jaydeep Mukherjee is affiliated with Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India.
Swot Analysis of "JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy" written by Sakhhi Chhabra, Jaydeep Mukherjee includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Oils Jmd facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Oils Jmd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Oils Jmd 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Oils Jmd
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 Oils Jmd
Strengths JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Oils Jmd in JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Oils Jmd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Oils Jmd 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
- Oils Jmd 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 Oils Jmd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Oils Jmd is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Oils Jmd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Oils Jmd 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 Sakhhi Chhabra, Jaydeep Mukherjee 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Oils Jmd has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Oils Jmd is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Oils Jmd in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Oils Jmd 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Oils Jmd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Oils Jmd 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
– Oils Jmd 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 Oils Jmd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Oils Jmd in the sector have low bargaining power. JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Oils Jmd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Oils Jmd, firm in the HBR case study JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Oils Jmd is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy, 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Oils Jmd 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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 Oils Jmd 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Sakhhi Chhabra, Jaydeep Mukherjee suggests that, Oils Jmd 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Oils Jmd 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Oils Jmd 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Oils Jmd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Oils Jmd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Oils Jmd to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Oils Jmd 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. Oils Jmd 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy, it seems that the employees of Oils Jmd 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.
Opportunities JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy | 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Oils Jmd 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 Oils Jmd 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, Oils Jmd 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Oils Jmd 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Oils Jmd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Oils Jmd to increase its market reach. Oils Jmd 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Oils Jmd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Oils Jmd to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy case study. Oils Jmd can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Oils Jmd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Oils Jmd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Oils Jmd 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, JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Oils Jmd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Oils Jmd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Oils Jmd 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, Oils Jmd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Oils Jmd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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.
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. Oils Jmd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy are -
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Oils Jmd 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy .
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 Oils Jmd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Oils Jmd.
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 Oils Jmd in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Oils Jmd 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.
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.
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. Oils Jmd 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Oils Jmd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Oils Jmd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Oils Jmd is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Oils Jmd 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. Oils Jmd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy, Oils Jmd 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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 JMD Oils: Deciding on a Growth Strategy 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 Oils Jmd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
