The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms Description

Founded in 2007, Bolaven Farms is a coffee business with a social purpose. Set up in Laos and Hong Kong, Bolaven Farms aims at providing high-quality coffee to the worldwide public while helping to alleviate poverty among coffee farmers in Laos. The business model involves a full integration of the coffee supply chain, from planting the coffee seed to selling the final branded product to wholesale and retail customers. Consequently, farmers and the company benefit from excluding intermediaries from the supply chain and keeping profit margins for themselves. The company's vision of educating farmers and providing them with higher income for their work is very compelling to the public and was quickly picked up by the media. However, the business model has yet to be tested. For one thing, once the farmers graduate from the programme, they need employment assurance and additional land to cultivate. For another, the coffee market is a mature one, with many players and a multitude of competing and lower-priced offers to choose from. People find the company's vision very inspiring, but it is also very difficult to translate into viable actions. The company has already invested US$4.0 million in the project, but is still a long way from educating the public and finding customers willing to pay premium prices for the coffee. Both ends of the supply chain need further refinement, and Say is not willing to compromise on quality or price. The case begins with an introduction of the coffee industry and its practices. A description of Laos as a business environment for Bolaven Farms follows. The case describes the development and implementation of a business model that incorporates vertical integration supported by social networks. It allows for an advanced analysis of issues related to choosing an appropriate business model and focuses on the risks related to future expansion and resulting from the strategic choices of the entrepreneur.

Case Description The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Strategic Managment Tools Used in Case Study Analysis of The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

STEP 1. Problem Identification in The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study

STEP 2. External Environment Analysis - PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis of The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study

STEP 3. Industry Specific / Porter Five Forces Analysis of The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study

STEP 4. Evaluating Alternatives / SWOT Analysis of The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study

STEP 5. Porter Value Chain Analysis / VRIO / VRIN Analysis The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study

STEP 6. Recommendations The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study

STEP 7. Basis of Recommendations for The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study

Case Analysis of The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms is a Harvard Business (HBR) Case Study on Organizational Development , Texas Business School provides HBR case study assignment help for just $9. Texas Business School(TBS) case study solution is based on HBR Case Study Method framework, TBS expertise & global insights. The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms is designed and drafted in a manner to allow the HBR case study reader to analyze a real-world problem by putting reader into the position of the decision maker. The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study will help professionals, MBA, EMBA, and leaders to develop a broad and clear understanding of casecategory challenges. The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms will also provide insight into areas such as – wordlist , strategy, leadership, sales and marketing, and negotiations.

Case Study Solutions Background Work

The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study solution is focused on solving the strategic and operational challenges the protagonist of the case is facing. The challenges involve – evaluation of strategic options, key role of Organizational Development, leadership qualities of the protagonist, and dynamics of the external environment. The challenge in front of the protagonist, of The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms, is to not only build a competitive position of the organization but also to sustain it over a period of time.

Strategic Management Tools Used in Case Study Solution

The The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study solution requires the MBA, EMBA, executive, professional to have a deep understanding of various strategic management tools such as SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

Texas Business School Approach to Organizational Development Solutions

In the Texas Business School, The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study solution – following strategic tools are used - SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

We have additionally used the concept of supply chain management and leadership framework to build a comprehensive case study solution for the case – The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Step 1 – Problem Identification of The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms - Harvard Business School Case Study

The first step to solve HBR The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study solution is to identify the problem present in the case. The problem statement of the case is provided in the beginning of the case where the protagonist is contemplating various options in the face of numerous challenges that Coffee Bolaven is facing right now. Even though the problem statement is essentially – “Organizational Development” challenge but it has impacted by others factors such as communication in the organization, uncertainty in the external environment, leadership in Coffee Bolaven, style of leadership and organization structure, marketing and sales, organizational behavior, strategy, internal politics, stakeholders priorities and more.

Step 2 – External Environment Analysis

Texas Business School approach of case study analysis – Conclusion, Reasons, Evidences - provides a framework to analyze every HBR case study. It requires conducting robust external environmental analysis to decipher evidences for the reasons presented in the The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms.

The external environment analysis of The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms will ensure that we are keeping a tab on the macro-environment factors that are directly and indirectly impacting the business of the firm.

What is PESTEL Analysis? Briefly Explained

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study. PESTEL analysis of " The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms" can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

How to do PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis? What are the components of PESTEL Analysis?

As mentioned above PESTEL Analysis has six elements – political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal. All the six elements are explained in context with The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms macro-environment and how it impacts the businesses of the firm.

How to do PESTEL Analysis for The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

To do comprehensive PESTEL analysis of case study – The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms , we have researched numerous components under the six factors of PESTEL analysis.

Political Factors that Impact The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Political factors impact seven key decision making areas – economic environment, socio-cultural environment, rate of innovation & investment in research & development, environmental laws, legal requirements, and acceptance of new technologies.

Policy Making Impact on The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Government policies have significant impact on the business environment of any country. The firm in “ The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms ” needs to navigate these policy decisions to create either an edge for itself or reduce the negative impact of the policy as far as possible.

Data safety laws – The countries in which Coffee Bolaven is operating, firms are required to store customer data within the premises of the country. Coffee Bolaven needs to restructure its IT policies to accommodate these changes. In the EU countries, firms are required to make special provision for privacy issues and other laws.

Competition Regulations – Numerous countries have strong competition laws both regarding the monopoly conditions and day to day fair business practices. The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms has numerous instances where the competition regulations aspects can be scrutinized.

Import restrictions on products – Before entering the new market, Coffee Bolaven in case study The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms" should look into the import restrictions that may be present in the prospective market.

Export restrictions on products – Apart from direct product export restrictions in field of technology and agriculture, a number of countries also have capital controls. Coffee Bolaven in case study “ The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms ” should look into these export restrictions policies.

Foreign Direct Investment Policies – Government policies favors local companies over international policies, Coffee Bolaven in case study “ The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms ” should understand in minute details regarding the Foreign Direct Investment policies of the prospective market.

Taxation & Regulation Impact on The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Corporate Taxes – The rate of taxes is often used by governments to lure foreign direct investments or increase domestic investment in a certain sector. Corporate taxation can be divided into two categories – taxes on profits and taxes on operations. Taxes on profits number is important for companies that already have a sustainable business model, while taxes on operations is far more significant for companies that are looking to set up new plants or operations.

Tariffs – Chekout how much tariffs the firm needs to pay in the “ The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms ” case study. The level of tariffs will determine the viability of the business model that the firm is contemplating. If the tariffs are high then it will be extremely difficult to compete with the local competitors. But if the tariffs are between 5-10% then Coffee Bolaven can compete against other competitors.

Government Scheme & Subsidies Impact on The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Research and Development Subsidies and Policies – Governments often provide tax breaks and other incentives for companies to innovate in various sectors of priority. Managers at The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study have to assess whether their business can benefit from such government assistance and subsidies.

Consumer protection – Different countries have different consumer protection laws. Managers need to clarify not only the consumer protection laws in advance but also legal implications if the firm fails to meet any of them.

Political System & Stability, and its Impact on The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Political System and Its Implications – Different political systems have different approach to free market and entrepreneurship. Managers need to assess these factors even before entering the market.

Freedom of Press is critical for fair trade and transparency. Countries where freedom of press is not prevalent there are high chances of both political and commercial corruption.

Corruption level – Coffee Bolaven needs to assess the level of corruptions both at the official level and at the market level, even before entering a new market. To tackle the menace of corruption – a firm should have a clear SOP that provides managers at each level what to do when they encounter instances of either systematic corruption or bureaucrats looking to take bribes from the firm.

Independence of judiciary – It is critical for fair business practices. If a country doesn’t have independent judiciary then there is no point entry into such a country for business.

Government attitude towards trade unions – Different political systems and government have different attitude towards trade unions and collective bargaining. The firm needs to assess – its comfort dealing with the unions and regulations regarding unions in a given market or industry. If both are on the same page then it makes sense to enter, otherwise it doesn’t.

Economic Factors that Impact The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Social Factors that Impact The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Technological Factors that Impact The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Environmental Factors that Impact The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Legal Factors that Impact The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms

Step 3 – Industry Specific Analysis

What is Porter Five Forces Analysis

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study. PESTEL analysis of " The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms" can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

Step 4 – SWOT Analysis / Internal Environment Analysis

Step 5 – Porter Value Chain / VRIO / VRIN Analysis

Step 6 – Evaluating Alternatives & Recommendations

Step 7 – Basis for Recommendations

References :: The Lao Coffee Industry: Implementing Vertical Integration for a Social Cause at Bolaven Farms case study solution