Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer
Tim Curran, CEO of Sample6, a start-up biotechnology company developing a novel food safety diagnostics platform, must decide how to partner with food industry players. How can he best convince leaders in this mature industry to adopt a new technology and improve food safety? Additionally, he faces a number of questions related to product development, marketing, regulatory compliance, and dynamic industry trends. This case provides an overview of food safety in the United States, and focuses on the strategic goal of transforming food safety from a "necessary evil" to a brand-enhancing differentiator.
Swot Analysis of "Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer" written by Robert F. Higgins, Kirsten Kester includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Food Sample6 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Boards, Developing employees, Disruptive innovation, Entrepreneurship, Globalization, IT, Joint ventures, Organizational culture, Personnel policies, Product development, Regulation, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization,
geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Food Sample6, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Food Sample6 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 Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Food Sample6
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 Food Sample6
Strengths Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Food Sample6 in Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Food Sample6 is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Food Sample6 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Food Sample6 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Food Sample6 in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Food Sample6 in the sector have low bargaining power. Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Food Sample6 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Food Sample6 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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
– Food Sample6 is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Food Sample6 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Food Sample6 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Food Sample6 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Food Sample6 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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.
High brand equity
– Food Sample6 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Food Sample6 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Food Sample6 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Food Sample6 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Food Sample6 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 - Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Food Sample6 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Food Sample6 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Food Sample6 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Food Sample6 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Food Sample6 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Food Sample6 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. Food Sample6 even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Food Sample6 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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 Food Sample6 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert F. Higgins, Kirsten Kester suggests that, Food Sample6 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Food Sample6 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer, it seems that the employees of Food Sample6 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.
Opportunities Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer | 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 Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Food Sample6 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.
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. Food Sample6 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
– Food Sample6 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Food Sample6 to increase its market reach. Food Sample6 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Food Sample6 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Food Sample6 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer case study. Food Sample6 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Food Sample6 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Food Sample6 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 Food Sample6 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Food Sample6 is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Food Sample6 can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Food Sample6 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 Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Food Sample6 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Food Sample6 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Food Sample6 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Food Sample6 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Food Sample6 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, Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer, 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 Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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 Food Sample6 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Food Sample6.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Food Sample6 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Food Sample6 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Food Sample6 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Food Sample6 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 Food Sample6
– 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 Food Sample6.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Food Sample6 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Food Sample6 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Food Sample6 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Food Sample6 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. Food Sample6 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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. Food Sample6 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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 Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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 Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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 Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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 Sample6: Partnering to Make Food Safer 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 Food Sample6 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
