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Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement


Video supplement to case 916414.

Authors :: Christopher A. Bartlett

Topics :: Global Business

Tags :: , SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement" written by Christopher A. Bartlett includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 916414 Unilever's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Global Business.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 916414 Unilever's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 916414 Unilever's 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 916414 Unilever's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of 916414 Unilever's




Strengths Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of 916414 Unilever's in Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– 916414 Unilever's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the 916414 Unilever's 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.

Organizational Resilience of 916414 Unilever's

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 916414 Unilever's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Successful track record of launching new products

– 916414 Unilever's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 916414 Unilever's has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

High brand equity

– 916414 Unilever's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 916414 Unilever's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry

– Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 916414 Unilever's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 916414 Unilever's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Strong track record of project management

– 916414 Unilever's 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 916414 Unilever's in the sector have low bargaining power. Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps 916414 Unilever's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of 916414 Unilever's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Highly skilled collaborators

– 916414 Unilever's 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Innovation driven organization

– 916414 Unilever's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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.






Weaknesses Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement are -

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 916414 Unilever's is planning to shift buying processes online.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, 916414 Unilever's 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, 916414 Unilever's 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement HBR case study mentions - 916414 Unilever's 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though 916414 Unilever's 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 - Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement, in the dynamic environment 916414 Unilever's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 916414 Unilever's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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 916414 Unilever's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Christopher A. Bartlett suggests that, 916414 Unilever's 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.

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 916414 Unilever's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left 916414 Unilever's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, 916414 Unilever's 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. 916414 Unilever's 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

916414 Unilever's 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.




Opportunities Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement | 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement are -

Buying journey improvements

– 916414 Unilever's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 916414 Unilever's 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 916414 Unilever's 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 916414 Unilever's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help 916414 Unilever's to increase its market reach. 916414 Unilever's 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 916414 Unilever's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 916414 Unilever's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.

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 916414 Unilever's in the consumer business. Now 916414 Unilever's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Loyalty marketing

– 916414 Unilever's 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, 916414 Unilever's 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, Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 916414 Unilever's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Developing new processes and practices

– 916414 Unilever's can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.

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. 916414 Unilever's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Leveraging digital technologies

– 916414 Unilever's 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. 916414 Unilever's 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. 916414 Unilever's 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement are -

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 916414 Unilever's.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 916414 Unilever's 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement .

Regulatory challenges

– 916414 Unilever's 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 Global Business industry regulations.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– 916414 Unilever's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, 916414 Unilever's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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.

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 916414 Unilever's in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement, 916414 Unilever's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .

High dependence on third party suppliers

– 916414 Unilever's 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.

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. 916414 Unilever's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 916414 Unilever's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for 916414 Unilever's in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on 916414 Unilever's 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.

Increasing wage structure of 916414 Unilever's

– 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 916414 Unilever's.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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 Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability, Video Supplement 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 916414 Unilever's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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