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 – technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 -
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.
Digital Transformation in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Corby Spirit and Wine B digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
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.
Analytics focus
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
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.
Organizational Resilience of Corby Spirit and Wine B
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Corby Spirit and Wine B does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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.
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.
Ability to lead change in Beverages (Alcoholic)
– Corby Spirit and Wine B is one of the leading players in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry in Canada. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Beverages (Alcoholic) industry in Canada but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Corby Spirit and Wine B in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
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 -
High dependence on Corby Spirit and Wine B ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Corby Spirit and Wine B still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Beverages (Alcoholic) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Corby Spirit and Wine B has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Corby Spirit and Wine B, in the dynamic environment of Beverages (Alcoholic) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Corby Spirit and Wine B has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Canada, Corby Spirit and Wine B needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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.
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.
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.
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 B is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Corby Spirit and Wine B to provide better information regarding Beverages (Alcoholic) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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.
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 -
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Corby Spirit and Wine B can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Corby Spirit and Wine B operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Beverages (Alcoholic) sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Corby Spirit and Wine B 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.
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 B can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 B 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 B to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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.
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.
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 B 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 B to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 -
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.
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 Corby Spirit and Wine B business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 Beverages (Alcoholic) industry regulations.
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 B can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Corby Spirit and Wine B 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 B prominent markets.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.