Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid
Most consumers who comprise "the bottom of the pyramid" reside in hundreds of thousands of villages located beyond most multinationals' distribution networks. Their access to essential goods is limited not just by high prices, but also by inadequate rural distribution, which also restricts the ability of poor producers to distribute their products. The term "socially responsible distribution" describes initiatives that provide poor producers and consumers with market access for goods and services that they can benefit from by either buying or selling, thus neutralizing the disadvantages they suffer due to inadequate physical links to markets, information asymmetries, and weak bargaining power. This article identifies how socially responsible distribution can be achieved by strategies that reduce costs, reinvent the distribution channel, or incorporate a long-term approach to investment. It offers guidelines for setting up distribution channels that integrate the rural bottom of the pyramid and identifies the payoffs from adopting them.
Swot Analysis of "Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid" written by Sushil Vachani, N. Craig Smith includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Distribution Pyramid facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Marketing, Social responsibility, Supply chain and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Distribution Pyramid, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Distribution Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Distribution Pyramid
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 Distribution Pyramid
Strengths Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Distribution Pyramid in Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Distribution Pyramid digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Distribution Pyramid 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Distribution Pyramid in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Distribution Pyramid is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Distribution Pyramid to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Distribution Pyramid to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Distribution Pyramid has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Distribution Pyramid 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.
High brand equity
– Distribution Pyramid has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Distribution Pyramid to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Distribution Pyramid is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Distribution Pyramid 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 Distribution Pyramid in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Distribution Pyramid 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 Distribution Pyramid is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Distribution Pyramid 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Distribution Pyramid is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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.
Training and development
– Distribution Pyramid has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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.
Weaknesses Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Distribution Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid, it seems that the employees of Distribution Pyramid 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Distribution Pyramid 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid, is just above the industry average. Distribution Pyramid 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid HBR case study mentions - Distribution Pyramid takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Lack of clear differentiation of Distribution Pyramid products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Distribution Pyramid needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Distribution Pyramid 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Distribution Pyramid 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Distribution Pyramid, firm in the HBR case study Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Distribution Pyramid is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Sushil Vachani, N. Craig Smith suggests that, Distribution Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid | 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Distribution Pyramid 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Distribution Pyramid can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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, Distribution Pyramid can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Distribution Pyramid 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, Distribution Pyramid 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
– Distribution Pyramid 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.
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. Distribution Pyramid can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Distribution Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Distribution Pyramid to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Distribution Pyramid 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 Distribution Pyramid to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Distribution Pyramid in the consumer business. Now Distribution Pyramid can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Distribution Pyramid 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. Distribution Pyramid 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Distribution Pyramid has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Distribution Pyramid to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid case study. Distribution Pyramid can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Distribution Pyramid to increase its market reach. Distribution Pyramid 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Distribution Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid are -
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Distribution Pyramid 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 Distribution Pyramid in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Distribution Pyramid 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. Distribution Pyramid can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid, Distribution Pyramid 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 .
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Distribution Pyramid with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Distribution Pyramid can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Distribution Pyramid has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Distribution Pyramid 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.
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. Distribution Pyramid needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Distribution Pyramid 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.
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. Distribution Pyramid 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.
Increasing wage structure of Distribution Pyramid
– 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 Distribution Pyramid.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Distribution Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Distribution Pyramid needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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