Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire
Kellogg Chief Sustainability Officer Diane Holdorf is facing a campaign by environmental activists who allege that the company's Indonesian supplier Wilmar International is illegally growing palm and is engaged in slash and burn practices. Protestors are lining up outside the company's Battle Creek, Michigan headquarters to rally against the partnership. While Kellogg only uses a small amount of palm in its products, the partnership with Wilmar provides the company with important strategic access to the Chinese market. Holdorf will be speaking with Kellogg's CEO in two days and is expected to provide him with her recommendations on how to proceed. Students are asked examine the extent of Kellogg's accountability for Wilmar's actions and decide how to respond to the allegations against its joint venture partner.
Swot Analysis of "Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire" written by Andrew Hoffman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wilmar Kellogg facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social responsibility, Supply chain and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wilmar Kellogg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wilmar Kellogg 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wilmar Kellogg
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 Wilmar Kellogg
Strengths Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wilmar Kellogg in Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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.
Organizational Resilience of Wilmar Kellogg
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wilmar Kellogg does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Wilmar Kellogg 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Wilmar Kellogg 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
– Wilmar Kellogg has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wilmar Kellogg to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Wilmar Kellogg is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wilmar Kellogg 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Wilmar Kellogg in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Wilmar Kellogg 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 Wilmar Kellogg is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Wilmar Kellogg 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 Wilmar Kellogg in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wilmar Kellogg 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Wilmar Kellogg 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Wilmar Kellogg has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Wilmar Kellogg 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Wilmar Kellogg 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. Wilmar Kellogg 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Andrew Hoffman suggests that, Wilmar Kellogg 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Wilmar Kellogg 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, Wilmar Kellogg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Wilmar Kellogg 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Wilmar Kellogg is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire, in the dynamic environment Wilmar Kellogg has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wilmar Kellogg has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Wilmar Kellogg is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Wilmar Kellogg needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Wilmar Kellogg to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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 Wilmar Kellogg has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire | 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Wilmar Kellogg is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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
– Wilmar Kellogg can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wilmar Kellogg 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wilmar Kellogg 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.
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. Wilmar Kellogg can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wilmar Kellogg 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Wilmar Kellogg 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.
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. Wilmar Kellogg can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Wilmar Kellogg 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Wilmar Kellogg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wilmar Kellogg can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wilmar Kellogg operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wilmar Kellogg can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Wilmar Kellogg in the consumer business. Now Wilmar Kellogg can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Wilmar Kellogg 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.
Threats Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire are -
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. Wilmar Kellogg can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire, Wilmar Kellogg 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Wilmar Kellogg 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.
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 Wilmar Kellogg.
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 Wilmar Kellogg in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wilmar Kellogg in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wilmar Kellogg with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wilmar Kellogg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wilmar Kellogg 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.
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. Wilmar Kellogg 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 Wilmar Kellogg
– 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 Wilmar Kellogg.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wilmar Kellogg is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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 Kellogg and Wilmar International: A Partnership Under Fire 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 Wilmar Kellogg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
