Case Study Description of Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged)
The vice-president of operations must submit a valuation and recommendation to expand his plant to handle a doubling of sales over the next three years. Students will have to understand the process review for capital allocation in this large corporation in order to make their recommendation, as well as complete a discounted cash flow.
Authors :: David C. Shaw, Stephen R. Foerster, Mary Heisz, Rob Barbara
Swot Analysis of "Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged)" written by David C. Shaw, Stephen R. Foerster, Mary Heisz, Rob Barbara includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Recommendation Laurentian facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategic planning and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Recommendation Laurentian, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Recommendation Laurentian 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Recommendation Laurentian
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 Recommendation Laurentian
Strengths Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Recommendation Laurentian in Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Recommendation Laurentian digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Recommendation Laurentian 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Recommendation Laurentian is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Recommendation Laurentian is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Recommendation Laurentian is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Recommendation Laurentian in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Recommendation Laurentian has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Recommendation Laurentian to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) 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.
Learning organization
- Recommendation Laurentian 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 Recommendation Laurentian is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Recommendation Laurentian 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 David C. Shaw, Stephen R. Foerster, Mary Heisz, Rob Barbara 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged), is just above the industry average. Recommendation Laurentian 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Recommendation Laurentian 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Recommendation Laurentian 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. Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Recommendation Laurentian 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 - Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged), in the dynamic environment Recommendation Laurentian has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Recommendation Laurentian has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) 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 Recommendation Laurentian has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Recommendation Laurentian is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Recommendation Laurentian needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Recommendation Laurentian to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged), it seems that the employees of Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Opportunities Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) | 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Recommendation Laurentian 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
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 Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Recommendation Laurentian can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Recommendation Laurentian can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Recommendation Laurentian to increase its market reach. Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Recommendation Laurentian 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Recommendation Laurentian to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Recommendation Laurentian in the consumer business. Now Recommendation Laurentian can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Recommendation Laurentian has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Recommendation Laurentian to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) case study. Recommendation Laurentian can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Recommendation Laurentian can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Threats Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Recommendation Laurentian in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Recommendation Laurentian 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 wage structure of Recommendation Laurentian
– 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 Recommendation Laurentian.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Recommendation Laurentian with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Recommendation Laurentian 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 Recommendation Laurentian in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Recommendation Laurentian needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting 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.
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. Recommendation Laurentian can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Recommendation Laurentian is facing in Finance & Accounting 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. Recommendation Laurentian 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged), Recommendation Laurentian 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 .
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 Recommendation Laurentian business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) 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 Laurentian Bakeries (Abridged) 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 Recommendation Laurentian needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
