Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets
In June 2014, Anthony Pile, founder and chairman of Blue Skies, called a board meeting to discuss the company's development plans. The economic crisis in Europe had made consumers more price sensitive, putting pressure on profit margins and spurring the search for new markets. Founded in 1998, Blue Skies was a fruit processing company headquartered in the U.K., with its main production site located in Ghana, Africa, where it cut and packaged fruits sold primarily to retailers in Europe. Relying on air-freight transport, it shipped produce within 48 hours of harvesting. Although Blue Skies had grown into a multinational with production operations on three continents, the company was still dependent on European markets. It remained largely focused on the U.K., whose retail sector was one of the most competitive in the world, but thanks to its product innovation capabilities, it was in a unique position to shape the future of the fresh-cut fruit industry. The case describes the evolution of Blue Skies since its foundation as a small fruit processing business exporting fresh-cut pineapple to Europe. It gives an overview of its strategy to capture more value using vertical integration as a mean to reduce supply costs and improve the quality of inputs. It illustrates how competitive structures in the fresh-cut market shape the balance of power within the agri-food value chain, and how Blue Skies maintained its competitive edge through a combination of production efficiency, product quality and market diversification.
Swot Analysis of "Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets" written by John-Paul Ferguson, Laurent De Clara includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Skies Blue facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competition, Competitive strategy, Emerging markets, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Sales, Supply chain and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Skies Blue, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Skies Blue 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 Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Skies Blue
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Skies Blue
Strengths Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Skies Blue in Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Skies Blue in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Skies Blue 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 Skies Blue is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Skies Blue has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Skies Blue to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Skies Blue is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Skies Blue 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 Skies Blue in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Skies Blue is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Skies Blue 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 John-Paul Ferguson, Laurent De Clara 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.
Organizational Resilience of Skies Blue
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Skies Blue does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Skies Blue is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Skies Blue 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.
Training and development
– Skies Blue has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Skies Blue 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 Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Skies Blue products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Skies Blue needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Skies Blue, firm in the HBR case study Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Skies Blue 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Skies Blue is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets HBR case study mentions - Skies Blue 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, Skies Blue 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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 Skies Blue 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Skies Blue 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 - Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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, John-Paul Ferguson, Laurent De Clara suggests that, Skies Blue 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets, in the dynamic environment Skies Blue has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Skies Blue has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets | 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 Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Skies Blue 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
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 Skies Blue in the consumer business. Now Skies Blue can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Skies Blue is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
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. Skies Blue can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Skies Blue 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. Skies Blue 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Skies Blue can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Skies Blue can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Skies Blue 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Skies Blue can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Skies Blue to increase its market reach. Skies Blue 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Skies Blue 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.
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 Skies Blue 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Skies Blue in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets are -
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 Skies Blue business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Skies Blue with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Skies Blue 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Skies Blue 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.
Environmental challenges
– Skies Blue 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. Skies Blue can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Skies Blue 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.
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. Skies Blue needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Skies Blue has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Skies Blue needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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 Skies Blue.
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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Skies Blue is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Skies Blue
– 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 Skies Blue.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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 Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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 Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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 Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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 Blue Skies: Connecting African Farmers to Global Markets 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 Skies Blue needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.