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 energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, 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 -
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.
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.
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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Adilabad Ccd 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Adilabad Ccd has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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.
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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Adilabad Ccd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Adilabad Ccd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Adilabad Ccd 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 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 -
Lack of clear differentiation of Adilabad Ccd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Adilabad Ccd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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.
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 Adilabad Ccd supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Adilabad Ccd vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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.
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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding 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 CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Adilabad Ccd is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding, it seems that the employees of Adilabad Ccd 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.
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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Adilabad Ccd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Adilabad Ccd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Adilabad Ccd to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Adilabad Ccd 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 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 -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Adilabad Ccd 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, CCD: Soya Cooperatives March into Branding, 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
– Adilabad Ccd 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.
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 Adilabad Ccd 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 Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Adilabad Ccd 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. Adilabad Ccd 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.
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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Adilabad Ccd to increase its market reach. Adilabad Ccd 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Adilabad Ccd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Adilabad Ccd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Adilabad Ccd 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, 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Adilabad Ccd 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.
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.
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.
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 Adilabad Ccd.
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.
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.
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.
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.