Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity
NourishCo Beverages Ltd.'s newest drink, Tata Gluco Plus, was an innovative ready-to-drink product that offered instant energy and wellness with a blend of dextrose, electrolytes, and iron. It was available in six different flavours and packaged in a 200-millilitre cup. The economical cup was targeted to consumers at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Despite strong initial sales and customer recognition, the brand was unable to build a distinct identity or a clear connection with consumers, and sales dropped by 11 per cent in 2014. In 2016, the vice-president of marketing and innovations, who was given the task of reviving the brand, was left with several questions to resolve. How would he create an image for the brand that could be adapted to local energy needs? Would the brand be able to relate locally while resonating nationally? Could the brand compete in territories where both regional and international cola brands dominated the market? NourishCo Beverages Ltd.'s business model emphasized operational efficiency and cost efficiency, but would the challenge of achieving a national presence be possible with a conservative promotional budget? Neena Sondhi is affiliated with International Management Institute-New Delhi.
Swot Analysis of "Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity" written by Neena Sondhi includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gluco Nourishco facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Strategy and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gluco Nourishco, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gluco Nourishco 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gluco Nourishco
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 Gluco Nourishco
Strengths Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gluco Nourishco in Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gluco Nourishco 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 recruit top talent
– Gluco Nourishco is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Gluco Nourishco in the sector have low bargaining power. Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Gluco Nourishco to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gluco Nourishco 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Gluco Nourishco 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 Gluco Nourishco is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Gluco Nourishco has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gluco Nourishco to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Gluco Nourishco digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Gluco Nourishco 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.
Training and development
– Gluco Nourishco has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Gluco Nourishco is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Gluco Nourishco 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 Gluco Nourishco in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gluco Nourishco to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gluco Nourishco to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Gluco Nourishco 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. Gluco Nourishco 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Gluco Nourishco is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Gluco Nourishco 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 - Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Gluco Nourishco has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Gluco Nourishco supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gluco Nourishco vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gluco Nourishco 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity HBR case study mentions - Gluco Nourishco 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Gluco Nourishco 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Gluco Nourishco has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gluco Nourishco is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Gluco Nourishco needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gluco Nourishco 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, Gluco Nourishco needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Opportunities Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity | 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity are -
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 Gluco Nourishco 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 Gluco Nourishco has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gluco Nourishco to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity case study. Gluco Nourishco can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Gluco Nourishco 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gluco Nourishco to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gluco Nourishco 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gluco Nourishco 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gluco Nourishco in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Gluco Nourishco 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, Gluco Nourishco 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, Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Gluco Nourishco 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gluco Nourishco 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 Gluco Nourishco to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Gluco Nourishco can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Gluco Nourishco 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 Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Gluco Nourishco 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. Gluco Nourishco 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.
Threats Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gluco Nourishco 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Gluco Nourishco is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Gluco Nourishco 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. Gluco Nourishco can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Gluco Nourishco has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Gluco Nourishco 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.
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. Gluco Nourishco 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity, Gluco Nourishco 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gluco Nourishco 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Gluco Nourishco can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Gluco Nourishco.
Regulatory challenges
– Gluco Nourishco 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.
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 Gluco Nourishco in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Gluco Nourishco 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Gluco Nourishco needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
