State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money
In November 2014, a senior administrative service officer at Madhya Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited was faced with the problem of determining how to best allocate food grain according to location demands. She needed to choose the best delivery routes and provide a cost-effective means of meeting demands for food grain from "fair-price shops." How should she approach this problem? How should she manage any changes that she makes in the distribution plans? The authors Rohit Kapoor, Ayushi Agrawal and Soumyajyoti Datta are affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Indore.
Swot Analysis of "State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money" written by Rohit Kapoor, Ayushi Agrawal, Soumyajyoti Datta includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Grain Supplies facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Supply chain and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Grain Supplies, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Grain Supplies 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Grain Supplies
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Grain Supplies
Strengths State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Grain Supplies in State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Grain Supplies is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Grain Supplies in the sector have low bargaining power. State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Grain Supplies to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Grain Supplies 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 Rohit Kapoor, Ayushi Agrawal, Soumyajyoti Datta 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Grain Supplies to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Grain Supplies to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Grain Supplies digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Grain Supplies 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Grain Supplies is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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
- Grain Supplies 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 Grain Supplies is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Grain Supplies 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Grain Supplies
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Grain Supplies does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Grain Supplies has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Grain Supplies 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Grain Supplies 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 Grain Supplies in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Grain Supplies 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Grain Supplies 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Grain Supplies 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 - State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money, it seems that the employees of Grain Supplies 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Grain Supplies has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Grain Supplies is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Grain Supplies 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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 Grain Supplies has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money, in the dynamic environment Grain Supplies has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Grain Supplies has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Grain Supplies is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Grain Supplies needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Grain Supplies to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money | 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Grain Supplies 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 Grain Supplies to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Grain Supplies 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 Global Business segment.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Grain Supplies can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Grain Supplies can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Grain Supplies 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, State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money, 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
– Grain Supplies can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Grain Supplies can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Grain Supplies in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Grain Supplies 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. Grain Supplies 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, Grain Supplies is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Grain Supplies 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.
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 Grain Supplies in the consumer business. Now Grain Supplies 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 Grain Supplies has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Grain Supplies to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money case study. Grain Supplies can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money, Grain Supplies may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Environmental challenges
– Grain Supplies 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. Grain Supplies can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Grain Supplies 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 Global Business industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Grain Supplies 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Grain Supplies can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Grain Supplies with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Grain Supplies needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Grain Supplies 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, Grain Supplies 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Grain Supplies is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Grain Supplies demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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 State Civil Supplies: Value People, Value Their Money 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 Grain Supplies needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
