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Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach


Although purchasing trends are moving toward consolidation, a strong economic argument can be made for supplier diversity. In fact, most Fortune 500 companies currently employ supplier diversity initiatives. If integrated into the overall corporate strategy, supplier diversity can become a source of competitive advantage for corporations. In order for such integration to successfully occur, however, the initiative must have top management commitment, a supportive culture, and the availability of champions to promote the proposal. Minority suppliers, in turn, need to realize that their failure or success in this highly competitive environment depends on their ability to continually develop overall competencies, to be learning organizations, and to become increasingly attuned to, and adept at, building strategic alliances amongst themselves and with their corporate customers. In these respects, they can make use of intermediary organizations (such as local supplier councils) to improve their competencies and competitive edge.

Authors :: Henry Adobor, Ronald McMullen

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Race, Supply chain, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach" written by Henry Adobor, Ronald McMullen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Supplier Diversity facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Race, Supply chain and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach


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




Strengths Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Supplier Diversity in Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach Harvard Business Review case study are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Supplier Diversity 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 Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Supplier Diversity in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Supplier Diversity is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

Training and development

– Supplier Diversity has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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.

High brand equity

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

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Supplier Diversity in the sector have low bargaining power. Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Supplier Diversity to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry

– Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Supplier Diversity to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Supplier Diversity to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Organizational Resilience of Supplier Diversity

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Supplier Diversity does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Supplier Diversity 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.

Analytics focus

– Supplier Diversity 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 Henry Adobor, Ronald McMullen 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Supplier Diversity is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.






Weaknesses Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach are -

Need for greater diversity

– Supplier Diversity 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Supplier Diversity is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach HBR case study mentions - Supplier Diversity 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 operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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 Supplier Diversity 's lucrative customers.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach, in the dynamic environment Supplier Diversity has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Supplier Diversity has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Lack of clear differentiation of Supplier Diversity products

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

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Supplier Diversity, firm in the HBR case study Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Supplier Diversity 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 existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Supplier Diversity supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Supplier Diversity vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach, is just above the industry average. Supplier Diversity 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Supplier Diversity 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.




Opportunities Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach | 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 Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach are -

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Supplier Diversity 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 Supplier Diversity to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Loyalty marketing

– Supplier Diversity 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.

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. Supplier Diversity can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Buying journey improvements

– Supplier Diversity can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Supplier Diversity 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, Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Supplier Diversity 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Supplier Diversity has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Supplier Diversity to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach case study. Supplier Diversity can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Supplier Diversity 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.

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 Supplier Diversity 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Supplier Diversity is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Supplier Diversity 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.

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 Supplier Diversity in the consumer business. Now Supplier Diversity can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.




Threats Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach are -

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Supplier Diversity 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Supplier Diversity needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Supplier Diversity 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 Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Supplier Diversity has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Supplier Diversity 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 Supplier Diversity is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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. Supplier Diversity can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Supplier Diversity 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.

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.

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 Supplier Diversity.

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. Supplier Diversity 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

Consumer confidence and its impact on Supplier Diversity 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.

Increasing wage structure of Supplier Diversity

– 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 Supplier Diversity.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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 Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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 Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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 Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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 Supplier Diversity and Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach 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 Supplier Diversity needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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