Case Study Description of Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A)
Two entrepreneurs of a successful competitive candy business are gearing up for the busy season and are looking at options to finance their company's growth over the short term.
Swot Analysis of "Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A)" written by Stewart Thornhill, Chris Sturby includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Candy Clodhoppers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial finance, Growth strategy and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Candy Clodhoppers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Candy Clodhoppers 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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Candy Clodhoppers
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Candy Clodhoppers
Strengths Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Candy Clodhoppers in Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Candy Clodhoppers digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Candy Clodhoppers 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
- Candy Clodhoppers 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 Candy Clodhoppers is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Candy Clodhoppers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Candy Clodhoppers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Candy Clodhoppers in the sector have low bargaining power. Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Candy Clodhoppers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Candy Clodhoppers 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 Candy Clodhoppers in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Candy Clodhoppers 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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Candy Clodhoppers are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Candy Clodhoppers is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Candy Clodhoppers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Candy Clodhoppers 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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stewart Thornhill, Chris Sturby suggests that, Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Candy Clodhoppers 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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, Candy Clodhoppers is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Candy Clodhoppers, firm in the HBR case study Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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 Candy Clodhoppers has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Candy Clodhoppers 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 - Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Candy Clodhoppers is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A), is just above the industry average. Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Opportunities Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Candy Clodhoppers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Candy Clodhoppers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) case study. Candy Clodhoppers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Candy Clodhoppers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Candy Clodhoppers can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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.
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. Candy Clodhoppers can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Candy Clodhoppers can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Candy Clodhoppers to increase its market reach. Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Candy Clodhoppers can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
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 Candy Clodhoppers in the consumer business. Now Candy Clodhoppers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Candy Clodhoppers 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
– Candy Clodhoppers 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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Candy Clodhoppers to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Candy Clodhoppers 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, Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Candy Clodhoppers in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) are -
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.
Increasing wage structure of Candy Clodhoppers
– 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 Candy Clodhoppers.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Candy Clodhoppers can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Candy Clodhoppers 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.
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 Candy Clodhoppers.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Candy Clodhoppers has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Candy Clodhoppers needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Environmental challenges
– Candy Clodhoppers 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. Candy Clodhoppers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Candy Clodhoppers 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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 Candy Clodhoppers in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Candy Clodhoppers 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Candy Clodhoppers can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A) .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (A), Candy Clodhoppers may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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 Krave's Candy Co.--Clodhoppers (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 Candy Clodhoppers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.