Swot Analysis of "Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B)" written by Larry Menor, Ramasastry Chandrasekhar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Dabbawallahs Mumbai facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, 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%, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dabbawallahs Mumbai, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dabbawallahs Mumbai
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Dabbawallahs Mumbai
Strengths Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dabbawallahs Mumbai in Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Dabbawallahs Mumbai in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 brand equity
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dabbawallahs Mumbai to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Larry Menor, Ramasastry Chandrasekhar 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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.
Learning organization
- Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dabbawallahs Mumbai in the sector have low bargaining power. Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dabbawallahs Mumbai to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B), it seems that the employees of Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B), is just above the industry average. Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dabbawallahs Mumbai is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dabbawallahs Mumbai is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Dabbawallahs Mumbai needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dabbawallahs Mumbai to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Dabbawallahs Mumbai is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Larry Menor, Ramasastry Chandrasekhar suggests that, Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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. Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Opportunities Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) | 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Dabbawallahs Mumbai to increase its market reach. Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Dabbawallahs Mumbai can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Dabbawallahs Mumbai can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dabbawallahs Mumbai operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dabbawallahs Mumbai in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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. Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Dabbawallahs Mumbai has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Dabbawallahs Mumbai to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) case study. Dabbawallahs Mumbai can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dabbawallahs Mumbai to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Dabbawallahs Mumbai can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) are -
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
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Dabbawallahs Mumbai needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B), Dabbawallahs Mumbai may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
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.
Increasing wage structure of Dabbawallahs Mumbai
– 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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai.
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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dabbawallahs Mumbai is facing in Technology & Operations 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 Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Dabbawallahs Mumbai can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Dabbawallahs Mumbai with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Dabbawallahs Mumbai 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. Dabbawallahs Mumbai can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (B) 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 Dabbawallahs Mumbai needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.