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 - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dscl Farmers 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
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.
Innovation driven organization
– Dscl Farmers is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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 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.
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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Dscl Farmers is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Dscl Farmers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Dscl Farmers 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Dscl Farmers 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 Dscl Farmers in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dscl Farmers is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
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.
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.
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 -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Dscl Farmers products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Dscl Farmers needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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.
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.
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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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 Dscl Farmers 's lucrative customers.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative, it seems that the employees of Dscl Farmers 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.
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.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative, is just above the industry average. Dscl Farmers 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.
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 -
Loyalty marketing
– Dscl Farmers 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Dscl Farmers can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dscl Farmers 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 Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dscl Farmers to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Dscl Farmers 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Dscl Farmers to increase its market reach. Dscl Farmers 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dscl Farmers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Dscl Farmers 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, Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
Increasing wage structure of Dscl Farmers
– 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 Dscl Farmers.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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 Dscl Farmers in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Dscl Farmers needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Dscl Farmers can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Dscl Farmers 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.