CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding
The case deals with the value chain of soya and red gram, from the farm to the market. The activities are conducted through the system of cooperatives focused around the Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh, India. The organization providing the necessary support and training to the cooperatives is Centre for Collective Development (CCD) which was set up in 2004. The case specifically deals with operations in Adilabad where CCD has helped 765 farmers trade 535.6 tons of soybean (2013-14) through the ''pool, store and sell'' business model. This number has reduced, though to 520 farmers trading 314.7 tons in 2014-2015. The case describes the circumstances leading to the same. The key decisions to be made are whether the said co-operative should proceed to invest in forward integration (processing and/or branding) in soybean processing. This becomes particularly important in Adilabad region because, while global soy meal demand appears to be on the surge, soy meal (derived from soybean agricultural output) production and hence exports seem to be decreasing, after a peak.
Swot Analysis of "CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding" written by Anshuman Tripathy, Chandru R, Preethi Venkataraman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Adilabad Ccd facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Adilabad Ccd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Adilabad Ccd 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Adilabad Ccd
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 Adilabad Ccd
Strengths CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Adilabad Ccd in CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Adilabad Ccd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Adilabad Ccd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Adilabad Ccd 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Adilabad Ccd in the sector have low bargaining power. CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Adilabad Ccd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Adilabad Ccd 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 Anshuman Tripathy, Chandru R, Preethi Venkataraman 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.
Organizational Resilience of Adilabad Ccd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Adilabad Ccd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Adilabad Ccd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Adilabad Ccd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Adilabad Ccd 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 Adilabad Ccd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Adilabad Ccd is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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
– Adilabad Ccd 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Adilabad Ccd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Adilabad Ccd 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Adilabad Ccd in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Adilabad Ccd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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 Adilabad Ccd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding HBR case study mentions - Adilabad Ccd takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding, is just above the industry average. Adilabad Ccd 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Adilabad Ccd 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 - CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Adilabad Ccd 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Adilabad Ccd, firm in the HBR case study CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Adilabad Ccd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding, in the dynamic environment Adilabad Ccd has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Adilabad Ccd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Adilabad Ccd 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.
Opportunities CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding | 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding are -
Loyalty marketing
– Adilabad Ccd 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Adilabad Ccd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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.
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. Adilabad Ccd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Adilabad Ccd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Adilabad Ccd 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Adilabad Ccd 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 Technology & Operations segment.
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. Adilabad Ccd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Adilabad Ccd in the consumer business. Now Adilabad Ccd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Adilabad Ccd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Adilabad Ccd to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding case study. Adilabad Ccd 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 Adilabad Ccd 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 Adilabad Ccd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Adilabad Ccd 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Adilabad Ccd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Adilabad Ccd 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Adilabad Ccd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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.
Threats CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Adilabad Ccd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Adilabad Ccd 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Adilabad Ccd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Adilabad Ccd 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Adilabad Ccd in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Adilabad Ccd 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding .
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 Adilabad Ccd in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Adilabad Ccd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Adilabad Ccd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Adilabad Ccd is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Adilabad Ccd 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. Adilabad Ccd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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. Adilabad Ccd 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Adilabad Ccd 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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 Adilabad Ccd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.