Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future
In July 2017, Jorge Salcedo-Benitez was reflecting on his first decade as president of Solubles Instantaneos C.A. (SICA). Under his leadership, SICA had retained ownership of two leading brands of instant coffee in Ecuador: Don Cafe and Cafe Oro. As his descendants prepared to take the helm, Salcedo-Benitez wondered whether the company was still headed in the right direction. Giants like Nestle S.A. dominated the markets elsewhere, in part by consolidating small, family-owned operations such as his own. Salcedo-Benitez wondered whether it was time to seek new markets, develop new products, or update the brand image; yet he was hesitant to make large strategic moves while his sons were still preparing to take the helm. Nathaniel Lupton is affiliated with University of Lethbridge.
Swot Analysis of "Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future" written by Angelica Sanchez-Riofrio, Nathaniel Lupton, Teresa Larreta-Mendoza includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Benitez Salcedo facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Benitez Salcedo, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Benitez Salcedo 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 Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Benitez Salcedo
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Benitez Salcedo
Strengths Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Benitez Salcedo in Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Benitez Salcedo in the sector have low bargaining power. Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Benitez Salcedo to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Benitez Salcedo 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.
High brand equity
– Benitez Salcedo has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Benitez Salcedo to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Benitez Salcedo 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 Benitez Salcedo is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Benitez Salcedo is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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
– Benitez Salcedo 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 Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Benitez Salcedo 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 Benitez Salcedo in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Benitez Salcedo 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 Angelica Sanchez-Riofrio, Nathaniel Lupton, Teresa Larreta-Mendoza 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Benitez Salcedo digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Benitez Salcedo 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Benitez Salcedo is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Benitez Salcedo has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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.
Weaknesses Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future are -
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 Benitez Salcedo supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Benitez Salcedo vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Benitez Salcedo 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 - Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Benitez Salcedo is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Angelica Sanchez-Riofrio, Nathaniel Lupton, Teresa Larreta-Mendoza suggests that, Benitez Salcedo is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future, it seems that the employees of Benitez Salcedo 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Benitez Salcedo is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Benitez Salcedo needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Benitez Salcedo to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Benitez Salcedo 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future HBR case study mentions - Benitez Salcedo 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future, in the dynamic environment Benitez Salcedo has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Benitez Salcedo has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Benitez Salcedo has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Benitez Salcedo even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Opportunities Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future | 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 Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Benitez Salcedo has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Benitez Salcedo to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future case study. Benitez Salcedo can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Benitez Salcedo can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
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. Benitez Salcedo can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Benitez Salcedo can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Benitez Salcedo 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, Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Benitez Salcedo can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Benitez Salcedo 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. Benitez Salcedo 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Benitez Salcedo 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 Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Benitez Salcedo to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Benitez Salcedo in the consumer business. Now Benitez Salcedo can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Benitez Salcedo is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Benitez Salcedo in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Benitez Salcedo can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Benitez Salcedo 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 Benitez Salcedo to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Benitez Salcedo can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Benitez Salcedo is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future, Benitez Salcedo may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Benitez Salcedo with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Benitez Salcedo
– 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 Benitez Salcedo.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Benitez Salcedo 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.
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 Benitez Salcedo.
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 Benitez Salcedo in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Benitez Salcedo has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Benitez Salcedo needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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
– Benitez Salcedo 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Benitez Salcedo 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. Benitez Salcedo can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Benitez Salcedo in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
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. Benitez Salcedo needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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 Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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 Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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 Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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 Solubles Instantaneos C.A.: A Family Heritage, Looking to the Future 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 Benitez Salcedo needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.