France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall
This case describes a major food fraud scandal that resulted in a much-publicized product recall. The episode was dubbed "Horsegate" by the national and international press. In early 2013, a scandal broke out in Ireland and the UK when horsemeat was found in frozen prepared meals sold as containing 100% beef. Findus Nordic, the company involved in the scandal, sold the same products in France. The press launched an investigation, and there were numerous media reports. A French company, Picard SurgelA?s, was found to have two products tainted with horsemeat. Both companies had to recall their products. Politicians got involved and carefully followed the crisis. Organizations in the supply chain implicated in the scandal struggled to defend themselves and blamed each other. French consumers reacted, and sales of frozen meat products dropped sharply. Findus Nordic and Picard SurgelA?s's brands were the most heavily impacted in France. This case focuses on Picard SurgelA?s, an integrated food processor that sells its store brand (private label) products in a company-owned chain of retail stores. The company needs help, and brand managers and marketing communications specialists must assess the situation and make recommendations to address the aftermath of the food fraud/product recall.
Authors :: Normand Turgeon, JoAnne LaBrecque, Philippe Lefevre
Swot Analysis of "France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall" written by Normand Turgeon, JoAnne LaBrecque, Philippe Lefevre includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Surgela Scandal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Ethics, Public relations and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Surgela Scandal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Surgela Scandal 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 France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Surgela Scandal
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Surgela Scandal
Strengths France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Surgela Scandal in France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Surgela Scandal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Surgela Scandal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Surgela Scandal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Surgela Scandal has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Surgela Scandal to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Surgela Scandal to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Surgela Scandal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Surgela Scandal in the sector have low bargaining power. France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Surgela Scandal to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Surgela Scandal has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Surgela Scandal 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Surgela Scandal in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Surgela Scandal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Surgela Scandal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Surgela Scandal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Surgela Scandal 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Surgela Scandal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Surgela Scandal 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.
Weaknesses France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Surgela Scandal 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Surgela Scandal 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 - France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Surgela Scandal 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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 Surgela Scandal has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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 France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Surgela Scandal is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Surgela Scandal 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Surgela Scandal 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall, it seems that the employees of Surgela Scandal 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Surgela Scandal products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Surgela Scandal needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall, in the dynamic environment Surgela Scandal has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Surgela Scandal has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall | 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 France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Surgela Scandal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Surgela Scandal to increase its market reach. Surgela Scandal 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
– Surgela Scandal 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.
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 Surgela Scandal in the consumer business. Now Surgela Scandal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Surgela Scandal 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Surgela Scandal can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Surgela Scandal can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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, Surgela Scandal 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, France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Surgela Scandal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Surgela Scandal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Surgela Scandal 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 Surgela Scandal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Surgela Scandal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Surgela Scandal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Surgela Scandal 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.
Threats France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Surgela Scandal 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Surgela Scandal 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Surgela Scandal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Surgela Scandal needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Surgela Scandal 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall, Surgela Scandal may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Increasing wage structure of Surgela Scandal
– 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 Surgela Scandal.
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. Surgela Scandal 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Surgela Scandal 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.
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 Surgela Scandal in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Surgela Scandal business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Surgela Scandal 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 France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall .
Environmental challenges
– Surgela Scandal 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. Surgela Scandal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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 France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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 France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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 France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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 France's "Horsegate" Scandal: Marketing Communications Addressing the Aftermath of a Food Fraud/Product Recall 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 Surgela Scandal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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