Jones Soda Co (JSDA) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Jones Soda Co (United States)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Jones Soda Co is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jones Soda Co

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Jones Soda Co can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jones Soda Co, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jones Soda Co 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 Jones Soda Co can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Jones Soda Co
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jones Soda Co
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Jones Soda Co

---

Strengths of Jones Soda Co | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Jones Soda Co are -

Organizational Resilience of Jones Soda Co

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Jones Soda Co does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Jones Soda Co has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Jones Soda Co staying ahead in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Jones Soda Co in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry

– Jones Soda Co has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Jones Soda Co to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Jones Soda Co to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Analytics focus

– Jones Soda Co 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 (Nonalcoholic) industry. The technology infrastructure of United States 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Jones Soda Co has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Jones Soda Co have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Jones Soda Co in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Jones Soda Co has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Jones Soda Co to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Jones Soda Co is one of the leading players in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Strong track record of project management in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry

– Jones Soda Co is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Jones Soda Co 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.

Ability to lead change in Beverages (Nonalcoholic)

– Jones Soda Co is one of the leading players in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Jones Soda Co in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Digital Transformation in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Jones Soda Co digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Jones Soda Co 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.

---

---

Weaknesses of Jones Soda Co | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Jones Soda Co are -

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 Jones Soda Co supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Jones Soda Co is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Jones Soda Co vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Employees’ less understanding of Jones Soda Co strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Jones Soda Co 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry, Jones Soda Co 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Jones Soda Co is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry, but Jones Soda Co needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Jones Soda Co to focus more on services in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of United States, Jones Soda Co needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Jones Soda Co is just above the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Jones Soda Co, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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 bargaining power of channel partners in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Jones Soda Co 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 (Nonalcoholic) industry.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Jones Soda Co has high operating costs in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Jones Soda Co lucrative customers.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Jones Soda Co 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 (Nonalcoholic) industry over the last five years. Jones Soda Co 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Jones Soda Co 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.

---

Jones Soda Co Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Jones Soda Co are -

Loyalty marketing

– Jones Soda Co 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Jones Soda Co can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Jones Soda Co 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 (Nonalcoholic) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Jones Soda Co is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Jones Soda Co can utilize new technology in the field of Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Jones Soda Co 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Jones Soda Co can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Jones Soda Co has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Jones Soda Co to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Jones Soda Co to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Jones Soda Co can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Jones Soda Co can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Jones Soda Co 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 Jones Soda Co to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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. Jones Soda Co can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Jones Soda Co 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 Jones Soda Co to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Jones Soda Co 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 (Nonalcoholic) industry.

---

Threats Jones Soda Co External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Jones Soda Co are -

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Jones Soda Co in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. The Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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.

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 Jones Soda Co in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Jones Soda Co is facing in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Jones Soda Co.

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Jones Soda Co 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 (Nonalcoholic) industry regulations.

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. Jones Soda Co needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Increasing wage structure of Jones Soda Co

– 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 Jones Soda Co.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Jones Soda Co 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 (Nonalcoholic) industry.

Environmental challenges

– Jones Soda Co 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. Jones Soda Co can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Jones Soda Co has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Jones Soda Co needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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 dependence on third party suppliers

– Jones Soda Co 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.

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.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jones Soda Co Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Jones Soda Co 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 Jones Soda Co 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 Jones Soda Co 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 Jones Soda Co 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 Jones Soda Co needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---