Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets
Amore must set the fill-target for its eight-ounce macaroni and cheese pie. Unless five sample pies taken every 20 minutes average more than eight ounces, the entire 20-minute batch must be rejected. The case provides enough information to make an economic decision on the fill target. The case may be used to introduce the distribution of a sample average.
Swot Analysis of "Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets" written by Phillip E. Pfeifer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Macaroni Amore facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Market research and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Macaroni Amore, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Macaroni Amore 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Macaroni Amore
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 Macaroni Amore
Strengths Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Macaroni Amore in Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Macaroni Amore is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Macaroni Amore to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Macaroni Amore to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Macaroni Amore is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Macaroni Amore 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 Macaroni Amore is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Macaroni Amore 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Macaroni Amore in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Macaroni Amore has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Macaroni Amore to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Macaroni Amore has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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)
– Macaroni Amore 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Macaroni Amore is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Macaroni Amore 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 Macaroni Amore in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Macaroni Amore 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 Phillip E. Pfeifer 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.
Weaknesses Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Macaroni Amore 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Macaroni Amore 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Macaroni Amore is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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 Macaroni Amore has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Macaroni Amore is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets, is just above the industry average. Macaroni Amore 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Macaroni Amore has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets, it seems that the employees of Macaroni Amore 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Macaroni Amore 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Macaroni Amore 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Phillip E. Pfeifer suggests that, Macaroni Amore 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.
Opportunities Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets | 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Macaroni Amore 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, Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Macaroni Amore 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 Macaroni Amore to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Macaroni Amore can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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. Macaroni Amore can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Macaroni Amore 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Macaroni Amore to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Macaroni Amore can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Macaroni Amore 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Macaroni Amore has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Macaroni Amore to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets case study. Macaroni Amore can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Macaroni Amore 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. Macaroni Amore 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.
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 Macaroni Amore in the consumer business. Now Macaroni Amore can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Macaroni Amore can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Macaroni Amore 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.
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 Macaroni Amore 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.
Threats Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets are -
Environmental challenges
– Macaroni Amore 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. Macaroni Amore can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Macaroni Amore 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Macaroni Amore 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.
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 Macaroni Amore business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Macaroni Amore in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Macaroni Amore has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Macaroni Amore 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Macaroni Amore 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Macaroni Amore is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Macaroni Amore will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
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. Macaroni Amore can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Macaroni Amore.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets, Macaroni Amore may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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 Amore Frozen Foods (A): Macaroni and Cheese Fill Targets 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 Macaroni Amore needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.