Corby Spirit and Wine B (CSWb) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Beverages (Alcoholic)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Corby Spirit and Wine B (Canada)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Corby Spirit and Wine B is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing energy prices, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Corby Spirit and Wine B
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Corby Spirit and Wine B can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Corby Spirit and Wine B, 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 B 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 B can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Corby Spirit and Wine B
2. Improving business portfolio management of Corby Spirit and Wine B
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 B
Strengths of Corby Spirit and Wine B | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Corby Spirit and Wine B are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Corby Spirit and Wine B in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Corby Spirit and Wine B in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Corby Spirit and Wine B has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Corby Spirit and Wine B to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry
– Corby Spirit and Wine B is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Corby Spirit and Wine B 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
– Corby Spirit and Wine B is one of the most innovative firm in Beverages (Alcoholic) sector.
Learning organization
- Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 Corby Spirit and Wine B is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Corby Spirit and Wine B emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Corby Spirit and Wine B is present in almost all the verticals within the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. This has provided Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Corby Spirit and Wine B has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Corby Spirit and Wine B staying ahead in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 B to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 B have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Corby Spirit and Wine B has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Weaknesses of Corby Spirit and Wine B | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Corby Spirit and Wine B are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Corby Spirit and Wine B is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry, but Corby Spirit and Wine B needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Corby Spirit and Wine B to focus more on services in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Corby Spirit and Wine B has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry over the last five years. Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Corby Spirit and Wine B has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Canada, Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry, Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 B can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Corby Spirit and Wine B is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Corby Spirit and Wine B has high operating costs in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Corby Spirit and Wine B lucrative customers.
Employees’ less understanding of Corby Spirit and Wine B strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Corby Spirit and Wine B 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
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Corby Spirit and Wine B, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Corby Spirit and Wine B products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Corby Spirit and Wine B needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Corby Spirit and Wine B Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Corby Spirit and Wine B are -
Manufacturing automation
– Corby Spirit and Wine B can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Beverages (Alcoholic) sector. 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Corby Spirit and Wine B has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. This can help Corby Spirit and Wine B to build a more holistic ecosystem for Corby Spirit and Wine B products in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 B in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. Now Corby Spirit and Wine B can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Corby Spirit and Wine B to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Corby Spirit and Wine B can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
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. Corby Spirit and Wine B can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Corby Spirit and Wine B can develop new processes and procedures in Beverages (Alcoholic) 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Corby Spirit and Wine B is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Corby Spirit and Wine B to increase its market reach. Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Threats Corby Spirit and Wine B External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Corby Spirit and Wine B are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 B 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.
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 B 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 B 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Corby Spirit and Wine B in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. The Beverages (Alcoholic) 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.
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 B with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Beverages (Alcoholic) sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Corby Spirit and Wine B may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Beverages (Alcoholic) sector.
Environmental challenges
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 B can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry.
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.
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 Corby Spirit and Wine B.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Corby Spirit and Wine B is facing in Beverages (Alcoholic) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
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 B needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 B 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 B 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 B 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 B 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 B needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
