Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food
iD Fresh Food (India) Private Ltd., is a leading ready-to-cook and eat packaged food company serving several cities in India. The company is known for its popular product, Idly-Dosa batter that it sells through retail outlets. iD started with packaging Idly-Dosa batter and has since diversified into Malabar Parota, Wheat Parota, Chapati, and Chutneys. In 2017, iD Fresh was a 1000+ member team with seven factory locations and eight offices - two plants in Bengaluru, one each in Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mangalore, and Dubai. They manufactured more than 50,000 kg of Idli-Dosa batter per day which is equivalent to a million idlis. The company produced and sold nearly 15 ready-to-eat packaged food products and their flagship products include Idli-Dosa batter, Mini Parota, Malabar Parota, Whole Wheat Parota, Whole Wheat Chapati, and Whole Wheat Junior Parota. iD Fresh Food was in expansion phase and adding several outlets to its distribution network. Since all the products sold by iD Fresh Foods had short shelf life, anywhere between 4 and 7 days, forecasting demand accurately is important. iD would like to be in a state where there will be a greater degree of predictability in its operations. Ideally, they would like to know how much of each SKU should be loaded into each vehicle for the following day when a salesman starts his beat journey. The forecast for each store, based on past performance of each store in each beat, should be fairly accurate. This would then enable a macro-view of the business operations over a month and consequently help in production planning and operations for the future.
Swot Analysis of "Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food" written by Raman Narasimhan, Amardeep Sibia, Shirsha Ray Chaudhuri, S.R. Vigneshwaran includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Parota Id facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Parota Id, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Parota Id 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Parota Id
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 Parota Id
Strengths Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Parota Id in Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Parota Id 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 Parota Id is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Parota Id is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Parota Id 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Parota Id 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 Parota Id in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Parota Id is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Parota Id 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 Parota Id in the sector have low bargaining power. Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Parota Id to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Parota Id has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Parota Id 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Parota Id to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Parota Id to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Parota Id in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Parota Id is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Parota Id 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food, is just above the industry average. Parota Id 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Parota Id products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Parota Id needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Parota Id supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Parota Id vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Parota Id 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. Parota Id 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Parota Id 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 - Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Parota Id, firm in the HBR case study Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Parota Id is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food HBR case study mentions - Parota Id 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food, 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.
Opportunities Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food | 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Parota Id can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Technology & Operations segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Parota Id 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Parota Id 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, Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food, 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, Parota Id is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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.
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 Parota Id in the consumer business. Now Parota Id can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Parota Id 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Parota Id 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.
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 Parota Id 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Parota Id has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Parota Id to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food case study. Parota Id can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Parota Id can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Parota Id operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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. Parota Id 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. Parota Id 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Parota Id 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 Parota Id to increase its market reach. Parota Id 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.
Threats Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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. Parota Id can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Parota Id 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. Parota Id can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Parota Id.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Parota Id has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Parota Id needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Regulatory challenges
– Parota Id needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Technology & Operations industry regulations.
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. Parota Id 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Parota Id 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Parota Id is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Parota Id
– 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 Parota Id.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food, Parota Id may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
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 Parota Id business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Parota Id 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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 Demand Forecasting for Perishable Short Shelf Life Home Made Food at iD Fresh Food 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 Parota Id needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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