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, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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 -
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.
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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Gluco Nourishco has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Gluco Nourishco 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 Neena Sondhi 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Gluco Nourishco is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gluco Nourishco is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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.
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.
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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Gluco Nourishco in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Neena Sondhi suggests that, Gluco Nourishco 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Gluco Nourishco 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Gluco Nourishco 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Gluco Nourishco has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gluco Nourishco is planning to shift buying processes online.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity, it seems that the employees of Gluco Nourishco 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity, 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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Gluco Nourishco 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gluco Nourishco to increase its market reach. Gluco Nourishco 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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Gluco Nourishco can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Gluco Nourishco operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Gluco Nourishco can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Gluco Nourishco can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
Increasing wage structure of Gluco Nourishco
– 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 Gluco Nourishco.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Gluco Nourishco business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Gluco Nourishco with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gluco Nourishco 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 Tata Gluco Plus: Building the Brand Identity .
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.