Strategic Plan Part 2: Swot Analysis

The purpose of this synopsis is to analyze the forces and trends that Green Mountain Coffee Rosters faces relevant to its competitive position. The synopsis will explore external forces such as economic, social, legal and regulatory. The paper will also weigh internal forces such as resources, goals, and intellectual property, as it relates to Green Mountain Coffee Rosters. I will describe how the company adapts to changes; identify the major issues and opportunities that this company faces with in this synopsis.
External Forces and Trends Legal and Regulatory- These forces impact Green Mountain Coffee Rosters daily. In my opinion the one legal or regulatory force GMCR encounters is the Clayton Act. This stands out to me because of all the brands that are under the GMCR banner (Lister, 2012). The Clayton act prohibits board of directors being in position to make decisions for competing companies working under the same corporate banner. The coffee retail market is governed by U. S. ntitrust laws as any other industry. The Federal Trade Commission Act bars dishonest methods of competition, such as misleading information or deceptive business practices (Lister, 2012). The act is aim is to keep each coffee retailer, regardless of whether it sells coffee, honest with the information it provides to consumers about its products, and The Food and Drug Administration monitors all coffee products sold in the U. S. and inspects them to ensure no potentially harmful ingredients are present.
Economic- Economic factors concern the nature and direction of the economy in which a firm operates, Pearce & Robinson (2009). A potential economic trend is the Hipics demographic. The ethnic group drinks coffee more than other racial and ethnic groups. They begin drinking coffee earlier than other groups and in their older years are more likely to be exclusive coffee drinkers; and 74 percent of Hipic-Americans drink coffee daily, twelve percentage points ahead of other Americans.

As they become acculturated they mimic the attitudes and behaviors of non-Hipic coffee drinkers. Competitive Analysis- Since 1981 GMRC has built formidable organization from its humble beginnings as a small cafe in Waitsfield, Vermont. Its positioning strategy thus far has been brilliant, differentiating its brand from other brands in the market. Green Mountain Coffee Rosters used a method of delivering value, strategic relationships and customer segments to wrestle away market from Nestle and other hot beverage manufactures. Internal Forces and Trends
Strategy- It appears that GMCR is consistently strategizing. Even with the inevitable expiration of K-Cup pack patent in September 2012. The company is positioning competitively GMCR is attempting to increase its brand’s awareness by partnering with other coffee manufacturers, such as Folgers by supplying K-Cup packs for competitors, GMCR increase awareness of Keurig products with this strategy. Another tactic GMCR is using to combat the expiration of K-Cup pack patent is technology (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters INC. , 2012).
The organization recently machine introduced to the market a mid-high end brewer that provides many more options than regular Keurig machines. Consumer can control the strength of their drink, the temperature at which it is brewed, the amount brewed, and brew many other drinks including cafe beverages (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters INC. , 2012). This is an opportunity for GMCR to tap into more affluent markets and promote its specialty coffee as a complement to the Keurig Vue. Culture – The culture at GMCR is mindful to the effectiveness of the business.
The ideas promote a positive perception in the company from customers, employees, suppliers, and stakeholders. The GMCR focus on establishing cultural environment to ensure everyone effectively knows how to implement the mission, vision, and values set for the organization. Key areas are: GMCR purpose states “We create the ultimate coffee experience in every life we touch from tree to cup – transforming the way the world understands business” (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2012). Another notable cultural belief of GMCR is personal excellence quoted this way “For today and tomorrow.
Our competitive strength comes from the continuous improvement of all that we do” (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters INC. , 2012). We actively seek out and apply best practices”. Other principles to support its cultural environment are continuous learning, appreciating differences, shared ownership, and world benefit. Strategic Capabilities – Green Mountain Coffee Rosters imported coffee from 24 countries. This indicates that it has inbound logistics capabilities, such as material control systems, inventory control systems, raw material handling, and warehousing (Green Mountain
Coffee Roasters, 2012). Located in 7 states GMCR operates from three business units: the specialty coffee business unit, which includes Green Mountain Coffee, Barista Prima, Tully’s Coffee, Timothy’s World Coffee, and Coffee People coffee brands; the Keurig Business Unit, where the Keurig single cup brewing system was created; and the Canadian Business Unit, which is responsible for all GMCR sales in Canada and includes the Van Houtte business and Timothy’s brand (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2012). This is also a demonstration of its strategic capabilities.
Conclusion Before I analyzed the competitive position of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, I asked could this company do anything wrong? Now at the end of my analysis I ponder the same question. I’m not an expert yet at conducting SWOT analysis, but in my humble opinion one does not conduct a SWOT on a successful firm. I analyzed GMCR objectively and un-bias and still think the company has exceptional competitive positioning strategy The only weakness to me is expiration of K-Cup pack patent in September 2012.
Still the organization manages to use the one the counter measure that my professor taught GMCR does. They are practically giving K-Cup packs away, supplying them to any firms that want to use them. For now this prove they can produce the product cheap, showing the competition that it probably not a good strategy to develop a similar product to the K-Cup. ?
References
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters INC. (2012). Corporate Overview. Retrieved from http://www. gmcr. com/about-GMCR. html Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. (2012).
Corporate Social Responsibility Report Fiscal 2011. Retrieved from http://www.com/-/media/sustainability/PDF/CSRreport/GMCRCSRReport. 2011. ashx
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. (2009). Corporate Overview. Retrieved from http://www. gmcr. com/about-GMCR. html Lister, J. (2012). Regulation of Coffee Retail Market in the USA.
Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/about_6886008_regulation-coffee-retail-market-usa. html Pearce, J. A. , & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control (11th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.