Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem
Monique Oxender, chief sustainability officer for Keurig Green Mountain Coffee, is carefully considering the criticism the company has received regarding its plastic K-Cups that deliver a single serving of coffee to consumers through the Keurig brewing system. Billions of the difficult-to-recycle K-Cup pods are ending up in landfills. Keurig Green Mountain has pledged to produce 100% recyclable K-Cups by 2020, but how will it achieve this goal? Oxender must address the environmental impact and public scrutiny of the company's signature product. However, she must find a way to overcome the inconsistent and sometimes inadequate recycling infrastructure in Keurig's markets. Students join Oxender in finding the best, workable solutions.
Swot Analysis of "Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem" written by Andrew Hoffman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Keurig Oxender facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Keurig Oxender, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Keurig Oxender 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Keurig Oxender
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 Keurig Oxender
Strengths Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Keurig Oxender in Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Keurig Oxender is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Keurig Oxender
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Keurig Oxender does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Keurig Oxender is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Keurig Oxender 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.
High brand equity
– Keurig Oxender has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Keurig Oxender to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Keurig Oxender 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 Andrew Hoffman 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Keurig Oxender in the sector have low bargaining power. Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Keurig Oxender to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Keurig Oxender 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 Keurig Oxender is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Keurig Oxender has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Keurig Oxender to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Keurig Oxender to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Keurig Oxender 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 Keurig Oxender in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Keurig Oxender has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Keurig Oxender 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Keurig Oxender, firm in the HBR case study Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Keurig Oxender 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Keurig Oxender 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem, in the dynamic environment Keurig Oxender has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Keurig Oxender has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Keurig Oxender is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Keurig Oxender has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem, is just above the industry average. Keurig Oxender needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Keurig Oxender is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem, it seems that the employees of Keurig Oxender 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Keurig Oxender 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. Keurig Oxender even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Keurig Oxender has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem | 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Keurig Oxender can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Keurig Oxender to increase its market reach. Keurig Oxender will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Keurig Oxender 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Keurig Oxender 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Keurig Oxender 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 Keurig Oxender 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 Keurig Oxender to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Keurig Oxender 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, Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Keurig Oxender 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Keurig Oxender to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Keurig Oxender 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 Keurig Oxender has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Keurig Oxender to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem case study. Keurig Oxender can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Keurig Oxender can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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.
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. Keurig Oxender 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. Keurig Oxender 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Keurig Oxender can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Keurig Oxender operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem are -
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. Keurig Oxender 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.
Increasing wage structure of Keurig Oxender
– 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 Keurig Oxender.
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 Keurig Oxender.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Keurig Oxender 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Keurig Oxender has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Keurig Oxender 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Keurig Oxender demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
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.
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 Keurig Oxender business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem, Keurig Oxender 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Keurig Oxender 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Keurig Oxender is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Keurig Oxender with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem 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 Keurig Oxender needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
