Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative
In rural India, farmers historically had limited access to quality input items for both their fields and homes. Indian conglomerate DSCL has undertaken a Rural Business Initiative to address this issue, establishing a chain of retail outlets throughout rural India geared toward farmers and their families. Through its growing network of stores, DSCL is able to establish relationships with farmers and provide them with a host of agricultural services, including improved crop inputs, agronomic support, fuel, banking, and consumer goods. The outlets also buy back some of the farmers' production at harvest time. In utilizing the products and services offered by the stores, farmers are able to improve the quality of their crops and access a network of helpful resources in an environment that was once considered completely tangential to the benefits of agricultural research and technology reaped in other parts of the world. DSCL strategizes about how the company can also benefit from these freshly forged connections with India's rural millions.
Swot Analysis of "Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative" written by David E. Bell, Nitin Sanghavi includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dscl Farmers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dscl Farmers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dscl Farmers 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dscl Farmers
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 Dscl Farmers
Strengths Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dscl Farmers in Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Dscl Farmers 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 Dscl Farmers is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Dscl Farmers 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Dscl Farmers digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Dscl Farmers has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dscl Farmers 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 Dscl Farmers in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Dscl Farmers 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
– Dscl Farmers 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 David E. Bell, Nitin Sanghavi 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Dscl Farmers 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Dscl Farmers has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dscl Farmers to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Dscl Farmers has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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
– Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dscl Farmers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dscl Farmers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dscl Farmers in the sector have low bargaining power. Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dscl Farmers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Dscl Farmers has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Dscl Farmers, firm in the HBR case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Dscl Farmers 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative, in the dynamic environment Dscl Farmers has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dscl Farmers has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Dscl Farmers 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 Dscl Farmers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Dscl Farmers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Dscl Farmers 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. Dscl Farmers 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dscl Farmers is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dscl Farmers is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Dscl Farmers needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dscl Farmers to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Dscl Farmers 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Dscl Farmers 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative | 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative are -
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 Dscl Farmers in the consumer business. Now Dscl Farmers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Dscl Farmers can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Dscl Farmers 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dscl Farmers 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 Dscl Farmers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Dscl Farmers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative case study. Dscl Farmers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dscl Farmers 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 Dscl Farmers to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dscl Farmers 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.
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. Dscl Farmers can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Dscl Farmers 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Dscl Farmers 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.
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. Dscl Farmers 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. Dscl Farmers 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, Dscl Farmers can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dscl Farmers operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Dscl Farmers 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.
Threats Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative, Dscl Farmers 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
– Dscl Farmers 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dscl Farmers 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.
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 Dscl Farmers.
Environmental challenges
– Dscl Farmers needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Dscl Farmers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Dscl Farmers 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Dscl Farmers has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Dscl Farmers 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.
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 Dscl Farmers business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dscl Farmers is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Dscl Farmers 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, Dscl Farmers 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dscl Farmers 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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 Dscl Farmers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
