Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution
Opening up of Asian markets for U.S. produce provided an opportunity for large-scale producers to develop their own packing house and airline to ship their product to Asian markets. Teaching Purpose: How do farmers take a proactive strategy in reaching global produce markets in a direct fashion?
Swot Analysis of "Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution" written by Ray A. Goldberg, Donald Daniels includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Produce Farmington facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Produce Farmington, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Produce Farmington 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Produce Farmington
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 Produce Farmington
Strengths Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Produce Farmington in Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Produce Farmington has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Produce Farmington 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Produce Farmington to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Produce Farmington to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Produce Farmington has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Produce Farmington to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Produce Farmington 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 Produce Farmington is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Produce Farmington has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Produce Farmington is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Produce Farmington 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Produce Farmington has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Produce Farmington digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Produce Farmington 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Produce Farmington 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 Produce Farmington in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Produce Farmington in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Produce Farmington is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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.
Weaknesses Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Produce Farmington, firm in the HBR case study Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution, is just above the industry average. Produce Farmington 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Produce Farmington 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 - Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Produce Farmington 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.
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 Produce Farmington supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Produce Farmington vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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 Produce Farmington has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution, it seems that the employees of Produce Farmington 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution HBR case study mentions - Produce Farmington 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Produce Farmington is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Produce Farmington is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Produce Farmington needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Produce Farmington to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution | 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Produce Farmington 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 Produce Farmington to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Produce Farmington 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. Produce Farmington 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Produce Farmington can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Produce Farmington can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Produce Farmington 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Produce Farmington to increase its market reach. Produce Farmington 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Produce Farmington can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Produce Farmington can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Produce Farmington 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 Global Business segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Produce Farmington 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Produce Farmington 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Produce Farmington 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
– Produce Farmington 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Produce Farmington can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Produce Farmington operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Threats Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Produce Farmington has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Produce Farmington 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 Produce Farmington in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Produce Farmington needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Produce Farmington 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Produce Farmington can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Produce Farmington
– 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 Produce Farmington.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Produce Farmington 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Produce Farmington 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 Produce Farmington 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Produce Farmington is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution, Produce Farmington 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Produce Farmington 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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 Farmington Fresh: Growers Changing Produce Distribution 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 Produce Farmington needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
