Corby Spirit and Wine A (CSWa) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Beverages (Alcoholic)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Corby Spirit and Wine A (Canada)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Corby Spirit and Wine A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Corby Spirit and Wine A
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Corby Spirit and Wine A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Corby Spirit and Wine A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Corby Spirit and Wine A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Corby Spirit and Wine A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Corby Spirit and Wine A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Beverages (Alcoholic) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Corby Spirit and Wine A
Strengths of Corby Spirit and Wine A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Corby Spirit and Wine A are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Corby Spirit and Wine A in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Corby Spirit and Wine A has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Corby Spirit and Wine A to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Corby Spirit and Wine A digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Corby Spirit and Wine A comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Beverages (Alcoholic) 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.
High brand equity
– Corby Spirit and Wine A has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Corby Spirit and Wine A to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Analytics focus
– Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. The technology infrastructure of Canada is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Diverse revenue streams
– Corby Spirit and Wine A is present in almost all the verticals within the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. This has provided Corby Spirit and Wine A a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Corby Spirit and Wine A is one of the leading players in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry in Canada. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Canada. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Corby Spirit and Wine A has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Corby Spirit and Wine A has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Corby Spirit and Wine A have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Corby Spirit and Wine A has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-Cyclical industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Strong track record of project management in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry
– Corby Spirit and Wine A is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses of Corby Spirit and Wine A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Corby Spirit and Wine A are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Corby Spirit and Wine A is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Corby Spirit and Wine A to provide better information regarding Beverages (Alcoholic) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Corby Spirit and Wine A has some of the most successful models in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Corby Spirit and Wine 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 Corby Spirit and Wine A supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Corby Spirit and Wine A is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Corby Spirit and Wine A vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ less understanding of Corby Spirit and Wine A strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Corby Spirit and Wine A is just above the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry average. It 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 bargaining power of channel partners in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Canada, Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Beverages (Alcoholic) industry.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Corby Spirit and Wine A, in the dynamic environment of Beverages (Alcoholic) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Corby Spirit and Wine A has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Corby Spirit and Wine A, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Corby Spirit and Wine A has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Corby Spirit and Wine A needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Corby Spirit and Wine A can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Corby Spirit and Wine A is planning to shift buying processes online.
Corby Spirit and Wine A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Corby Spirit and Wine A are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Corby Spirit and Wine A is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Corby Spirit and Wine A can utilize new technology in the field of Beverages (Alcoholic) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Corby Spirit and Wine A to increase its market reach. Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Corby Spirit and Wine A can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Corby Spirit and Wine A 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. Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Corby Spirit and Wine A to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Corby Spirit and Wine 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Corby Spirit and Wine A in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. Now Corby Spirit and Wine A can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Corby Spirit and Wine A has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Beverages (Alcoholic) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Corby Spirit and Wine A to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Corby Spirit and Wine A to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Beverages (Alcoholic) industry.
Buying journey improvements
– Corby Spirit and Wine A can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Corby Spirit and Wine A in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Corby Spirit and Wine A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Corby Spirit and Wine A are -
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. Corby Spirit and Wine A needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Beverages (Alcoholic) industry and other sectors.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Corby Spirit and Wine A prominent markets.
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.
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 Corby Spirit and Wine A in the Beverages (Alcoholic) sector and impact the bottomline 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. Corby Spirit and Wine A 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Corby Spirit and Wine A is facing in Beverages (Alcoholic) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Corby Spirit and Wine A
– 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 Corby Spirit and Wine A.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Corby Spirit and Wine A has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Corby Spirit and Wine A needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Beverages (Alcoholic) 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Beverages (Alcoholic) industry are lowering. It can presents Corby Spirit and Wine A with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Beverages (Alcoholic) sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Corby Spirit and Wine A can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Corby Spirit and Wine A 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. Corby Spirit and Wine A can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Beverages (Alcoholic) industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Corby Spirit and Wine A Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Corby Spirit and Wine 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 Corby Spirit and Wine 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 Corby Spirit and Wine 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 Corby Spirit and Wine A 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 Corby Spirit and Wine A needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.