PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A)
Plumrose Latinoamericana, a subsidiary of the Danish Group, The East Asiatic Company Ltd A/S (EAC), better known in Venezuela as Plumrose, is the country's largest player within the processed meat industry. Bent Porsborg, CEO of Plumrose, was concerned that despite repeated marketing efforts, Plumrose's share in the deviled ham category had been stagnating, at less than 10% over the last 10 years, while the market leader Underwood, a General Mills brand, enjoyed close to 90% market share. To add insult to injury, the general manager of General Mills Venezuela told Porsborg, at a meeting in 2004, that he did not really consider Plumrose as a competitor. Following that meeting, Porsborg immediately created a special task force to launch an aggressive attack in the deviled ham category. Learning objectives: How to write a marketing plan and develop a marketing strategy.
Swot Analysis of "PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A)" written by Dominique Turpin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Plumrose Porsborg facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Plumrose Porsborg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Plumrose Porsborg 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Plumrose Porsborg
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Plumrose Porsborg
Strengths PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Plumrose Porsborg in PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Plumrose Porsborg 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 Dominique Turpin 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Plumrose Porsborg in the sector have low bargaining power. PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Plumrose Porsborg to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Plumrose Porsborg has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Plumrose Porsborg 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 Plumrose Porsborg in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Plumrose Porsborg 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Plumrose Porsborg is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Plumrose Porsborg 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 Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Plumrose Porsborg 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 Plumrose Porsborg in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Plumrose Porsborg has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Plumrose Porsborg to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Plumrose Porsborg 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Plumrose Porsborg to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Plumrose Porsborg to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Plumrose Porsborg, firm in the HBR case study PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Plumrose Porsborg 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 - PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Plumrose Porsborg supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Plumrose Porsborg vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A), it seems that the employees of Plumrose Porsborg 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, Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Plumrose Porsborg 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. Plumrose Porsborg even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) 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 Plumrose Porsborg has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Plumrose Porsborg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A), is just above the industry average. Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Plumrose Porsborg is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) | 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) are -
Loyalty marketing
– Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Plumrose Porsborg can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Plumrose Porsborg can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Plumrose Porsborg can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Plumrose Porsborg can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Plumrose Porsborg operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Plumrose Porsborg can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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
– Plumrose Porsborg 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Plumrose Porsborg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Plumrose Porsborg in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Plumrose Porsborg to increase its market reach. Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Plumrose Porsborg can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Plumrose Porsborg has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Plumrose Porsborg to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) case study. Plumrose Porsborg can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Plumrose Porsborg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Plumrose Porsborg needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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.
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. Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Plumrose Porsborg 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Plumrose Porsborg can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Plumrose Porsborg with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Plumrose Porsborg
– 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 Plumrose Porsborg.
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 Plumrose Porsborg in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Plumrose Porsborg 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A), Plumrose Porsborg may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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. Plumrose Porsborg needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) 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 PLUMROSE LATINOAMERICANA: RELAUNCHING DEVILED HAM IN VENEZUELA (A) 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 Plumrose Porsborg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
