Consultancy Enterprise And Innovation Assessment Answer

Executive Summary

The practice of assisting an organisation in improving its performance is known as business consulting. For the client Unilever Company in this instance, strategy consulting is the most essential set of business skills. Unilever offers an extensive variety of shopper products on the planet. The particular report's primary objective is to provide an overview of the client base that requires strategy consulting services. In addition, the report provides insight into the business organisation's current situation, including opportunities and challenges. Unilever is a worldwide consumer products firm with a diverse product portfolio. The possible negative impact of the company's wide portfolio on operational efficiency is one potential drawback. To address this, we advise Unilever to concentrate on simplifying its product line as well as improving employee skills and training programmes. Implementing these ideas will help Unilever by increasing operational efficiency, lowering costs, and concentrating resources on key skills and brands with the greatest development potential. This will assist the organisation in maintaining its position as a market leader and remaining competitive.

Company Background

The client firm is Unilever Organization, an English Dutch global organisation that produces every day requested shopper merchandise in the UK as well as around the world. The client makes a gigantic turnover from various parts of speculation. The company manufactures ice cream, shampoo, balanced food, soap, and more than 400 brands worldwide. The company has the potential to offer a wide range of consumer goods because it operates in the consumer goods sector (Cheng et al. 2021). Despite the recent decline in the share price, the company has been focusing on increasing value per share. However, it faces the challenge of persuading customers to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. The client sells blue band, Ben & Jerry, Ponds, Vaseline, Rexona, Lux, and Sunsilk, among other well-known brands. Ben & Jerry's is the most popular food product, Lyons tea is the best drink, and Vaseline is the most popular household product (Unilever, 2016). According to research, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, and Nestle USA are Unilever's main rivals.

Unilever has a substantial presence in the UK market and is one of the major FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) corporations in the country. The corporation has made significant investments in sustainability and has set lofty goals for reducing its environmental effect. Unilever's sustainability activities include programmes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and waste, as well as programmes to enhance the livelihoods of individuals in its supply chain (Heifetz and Linsky, 2014). Ice cream, tea, spreads, and sauces are examples of goods in the food & refreshments area. According to Statista, the food and beverage sector in the United Kingdom will be worth roughly £104 billion in 2020. According to Statista, the market for home care goods in the UK was worth over £5.6 billion in 2020, while the market for beauty and personal care products was worth around £12.9 billion (LI and Shi, 2022).

Unilever UK has adopted the notion of open innovation, which entails collaborating with other organisations to get access to new ideas, technology, and markets. Unilever UK can tap into a broader range of knowledge and viewpoints by cooperating with startups, academic institutes, and other enterprises, which may assist drive innovation across the organisation (Lawrence et al. 2019). Unilever UK, for example, has collaborated with the University of Cambridge to create a new sustainable packaging material produced from seaweed. Unilever UK is also recognised for its disruptive innovation, which is the introduction of new goods or business strategies that challenge the status quo. Unilever UK's cooperation with the delivery business Quiqup to offer a new on-demand ice cream delivery service is one example of disruptive innovation.

Key Observations

Strong Aspects of Unilever UK

Unilever is a worldwide consumer goods corporation noted for its strong brands, innovative products, and environmentally conscious business practices. Unilever is a well-known and profitable firm with a strong emphasis on sustainability, a diversified portfolio of trusted brands, and a dedication to innovation (De Marco et al. 2021). These three features of Unilever have enabled the business to maintain its position as a consumer products sector leader while also establishing a reputation as a responsible and inventive firm. Three strong aspects of Unilever’s business are as follows:

Sustainability

Unilever is devoted to sustainability and has included it in its business strategy. The company's Sustainable Living Plan, which was released in 2010, lays out ambitious goals for reducing Unilever's environmental impact and improving social results (Rigby and Bilodeau, 2011). The plan's primary targets include lowering greenhouse gas emissions, conserving water, improving waste management, and enhancing the lives of smallholder farmers. Unilever has also committed to sourcing 100% of its agricultural raw ingredients sustainably by 2023 (ULLAH et al. 2021). The company's significant emphasis on sustainability has contributed to its position as a conscientious and forward-thinking organisation. Unilever's environmentally and socially responsible business practices also appeal to customers who are more concerned about the environment and social concerns.

Strong Brand Portfolio

Unilever offers a comprehensive portfolio of well-known brands that people worldwide trust. Dove, Knorr, Lipton, Axe, and Ben & Jerry's are some of Unilever's most well-known brands. The company's strong brand portfolio aids in the development of consumer loyalty and trust, which increases sales and income (Reza, 2020). Unilever also invests substantially in marketing and advertising to promote and raise awareness of its products. Marketing initiatives for the corporation are frequently imaginative and interesting, and they are intended to appeal to a wide spectrum of consumers.

Innovation

Unilever is a highly inventive firm that has remained competitive by exploiting innovation in a variety of ways. To accelerate product development and generate new growth prospects, the organisation has embraced open innovation, design thinking, and disruptive innovation. Unilever's focus on innovation has aided in the development of new goods and services that address evolving customer requirements (Popescu and Dascalu, 2011). Unilever, for example, has created plant-based replacements to typical dairy products under the brand name The Vegetarian Butcher. Unilever has also collaborated with other firms and organisations to foster innovation, such as its collaboration with the University of Cambridge to develop a sustainable seaweed packaging material.

Role of These Aspects in Achieving the Goals

Unilever's acknowledged strengths - sustainability, a strong brand portfolio, and innovation - are critical to the company's success. Unilever can establish a more sustainable business model that serves all stakeholders by working towards these objectives (Kindl and Casais, 2019). Furthermore, Unilever's emphasis on sustainability can assist the corporation in building brand loyalty among customers who are increasingly concerned about the environment and social concerns. Unilever's strong brand portfolio helps it accomplish its goal of achieving sustainable, profitable growth by boosting product sales. Unilever's dedication to innovation has enabled it to preserve its position as a consumer products sector leader.

Weakness and Its Impact

One possible issue for Unilever is the potential detrimental impact of its vast portfolio on operational efficiency. Unilever offers a varied portfolio of brands, each with its own product offering and marketing strategy. While variety may be a strength, it can also make it difficult for Unilever to focus and spend its resources efficiently.

Unilever's vast portfolio can make it difficult to focus and distribute its resources efficiently, resulting in lower efficiency. This inefficiency might hinder the company's capacity to adapt swiftly to developing trends or engage in R&D to generate innovation. As a result, Unilever may miss out on market growth prospects or become less competitive. Second, the significant overhead expenses of maintaining and promoting each brand separately might restrict Unilever's profitability (Preuss and Weikum, 2021). These expenses might be distributed across Unilever's portfolio, resulting in lower margins and profits. If the company's concentration is too dispersed among its several brands, it may be unable to capitalise on economies of scale, resulting in poorer profitability. Finally, if Unilever's emphasis is too broad, it may be unable to sufficiently spend on marketing and product development for each brand, resulting in underperforming products and lower profitability (Steiner, 2010). Unilever may potentially lose out on developing trends or fail to react to shifting customer preferences as a result of this.

Overall, the inefficiency and profitability of Unilever's wide portfolio hinder the company's ability to accomplish its aim of sustained, profitable expansion (Olsson and Bosch, 2015). Unilever may focus its efforts on its core brands and become more quick and adaptable in responding to market changes and opportunities by resolving this vulnerability and reducing its portfolio, resulting in sustained, profitable growth.

Unilever should consider reducing its portfolio and focusing on its key brands to improve efficiency and profitability. This would include selling underperforming brands and concentrating efforts on the most lucrative and promising companies (Sugosha et al. 2020). Unilever might cut its overhead expenses while being more quick and agile in responding to market changes and opportunities by doing so. This will enable Unilever to concentrate its efforts on achieving long-term, profitable growth while also creating value for its stakeholders.

Recommendations

Two Viable and Feasible Recommendations

The McKinsey 7S approach, which assesses seven important aspects crucial to an organisation's performance, is one consultant approach that may be used to produce realistic and achievable suggestions for Unilever. Strategy, structure, processes, style, personnel, skills, and shared values are the seven elements (Zhu et al. 2016). The McKinsey 7S approach, which assesses seven important aspects crucial to an organisation's performance, is one consultant approach that may be used to produce realistic and achievable suggestions for Unilever. Strategy, structure, processes, style, staff, skills, and shared values are the seven elements.

Consolidate and Streamline Unilever's Brand Portfolio

Unilever's broad array of brands, as previously said, might hamper the company's efficiency and profitability. Unilever should explore streamlining its portfolio and focusing on its key brands to remedy this problem (Stuart et al. 2018). This would include selling underperforming brands and concentrating efforts on the most lucrative and promising companies. This will allow Unilever to concentrate on delivering long-term, profitable development while also creating value for its stakeholders (Bocken and Short, 2016). This suggestion is consistent with the McKinsey 7S Framework's emphasis on strategy, structure, and shared values.

Enhance Employee Skills and TRaining Programs

Unilever's success is contingent on its workers' competencies and skills. Unilever might spend on improving employee skills and training programmes to guarantee that its staff remains competitive and equipped to drive development. Developing focused training programmes to boost staff abilities in areas such as digital marketing, sustainability, and innovation might be part of this (Tien and Do Thi, 2019). Unilever can better equip its workers with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in a constantly changing business world by doing so. This proposal is consistent with the McKinsey 7S Framework's emphasis on people and skills.

Both ideas are reasonable and feasible since they address crucial variables vital to an organisation's success and are consistent with Unilever's aim of sustainable, profitable growth (Ponte, 2019). Furthermore, these proposals are backed up by data and insights gleaned from a thorough examination of Unilever's company and market environment.

Role of Recommendations in Benefitting the Client

Unilever may profit from streamlining its product line in a variety of ways. It may assist the organisation in improving operational efficiency by decreasing complexity and optimising resources. Unilever may deploy resources more effectively and decrease expenses associated with unsuccessful items by focusing on core capabilities and products that perform well. Furthermore, by allowing Unilever to focus on items that are most relevant to their target market, a reduced product range helps increase consumer focus. Finally, by exhibiting a clear strategic focus and dedication to quality, simplifying the product portfolio may improve Unilever's brand image and reputation.

Unilever may profit from improved staff skills and training programmes in a variety of ways. Giving workers the opportunity to learn new skills and gain new information can boost their engagement and motivation at work. As a result, staff retention rates and recruiting expenses may improve (Lawrence et al. 2019). The client can increase the quality and efficiency of its goods and services by investing in staff training and development. This might assist the organisation in remaining competitive in the market and meeting changing consumer needs. Training and development may also encourage an innovative culture by giving employees the skills and information they need to create new ideas and solutions (Heifetz and Linsky, 2014). This can aid the client organisation in the development of new products and services to satisfy changing consumer wants and preferences. Unilever's profitability may be boosted through improving staff skills and training programmes. By improving the quality and efficacy of its goods and services, Unilever can cut costs and make more money.

For instance, Procter and Bet (P&G) are one of the organisations that have utilised comparable strategies to further develop staff abilities and prepare programs. Similar to Unilever, P&G is a significant global manufacturer of consumer goods. It operates in a highly competitive market. P&G offers a broad authority improvement program that permits labourers to extend their abilities and mastery in regions like systems, advancement, and administration. The programme combines classroom instruction, mentoring, and on-the-job training. Over the years, P&G has sold various non-core brands in order to focus on its core skills. P&G, for example, sold 41 of its beauty brands to Coty Inc. in 2016 to focus on its core cosmetic brands, such as Olay and Pantene (Cheng, 2021). P&G has also streamlined its products by consolidating its brand portfolio to avoid redundancy. To promote growth and innovation, P&G has also concentrated on its core categories, such as beauty, grooming, and household care. P&G can better manage resources and produce goods that satisfy the changing demands and tastes of its consumers by focusing on its core categories.

Role of Client’s Team

Human Resources Team

The HR staff will be important in putting the advice to improve employee skills and training programmes into action (De Marco et al. 2021). They will be in charge of assessing workers' individual training and development requirements and implementing training programmes that are in line with the company's general plan.

Learning and Development (L&D) Team

The L&D team will be in charge of creating and executing staff training and development programmes. They will collaborate closely with the HR team to define training requirements and build training modules to meet those requirements.

Operations Team 

It will be the responsibility of the operations team to incorporate the training and development programs into the company's procedures and operations (De Marco et al. 2021). To guarantee that the programs are carried out in an effective and efficient manner, they will collaborate with the L&D team.

Marketing and Sales Team:

As a result of enhanced employee skills and training programs, the marketing and sales teams will have access to employees who are more aware of the needs and preferences of customers (Preuss and Weikum, 2021). They will identify training programs that will assist in the improvement of customer-centric skills and knowledge in conjunction with the HR and L&D departments.

Executive Leadership Team

 It will be the responsibility of the executive leadership team to provide the resources and assistance required to successfully implement the suggested changes. They will likewise be responsible for checking headway and rolling out any necessary improvements to guarantee that the ideas are carried out effectively.

In general, Unilever's implementation of the suggested solutions will involve numerous internal departments and stakeholders, including senior leadership, HR, L&D, operations, marketing, and sales. To ensure powerful execution, a cross-practical methodology including coordinated effort and correspondence across different groups would be required.

References

Bocken, N.M. and Short, S.W., 2016. Towards a sufficiency-driven business model: Experiences and opportunities. Environmental innovation and societal transitions, 18, pp.41-61.

Cheng, Y., 2021, February. Analysis of the Opportunities and Challenges of Unilever's Differentiated Competition by Using SWOT and PEST. In the 6th International Conference on Economics, Management, Law and Education (EMLE 2020) (pp. 280-284). Atlantis Press.

De Marco, M., Fantozzi, P., Fornaro, C., Laura, L. and Miloso, A., 2021. Cognitive analytics management of the customer lifetime value: an artificial neural network approach. Journal of Enterprise Information Management.

Heifetz, R.A. and Linsky, M., 2014. Adaptive Leadership: The Heifetz Collection (3 Items). Harvard Business Review Press.

Kindl, E.M. and Casais, B., 2019. Motivations and perceived opportunities for partnerships among international business consultancy firms. Review of International Business and Strategy.

Lawrence, J., Rasche, A. and Kenny, K., 2019. Sustainability as an opportunity: Unilever's sustainable living plan. In Managing Sustainable Business (pp. 435- 455). Springer, Dordrecht.

LI, O.Y. and Shi, X.M., 2022. Food safety regulations within countries of increasing global supplier impact. In Ensuring Global Food Safety (pp. 151-158). Academic Press.

Olsson, H.H. and Bosch, J., 2015, June. Towards continuous customer validation: A conceptual model for combining qualitative customer feedback with quantitative customer observation. In the International Conference of Software Business (pp. 154-166). Springer, Cham.

Ponte, S., 2019. Sustainability, global value chains and green capital accumulation. In Handbook on global value chains. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Popescu, M. and Dascalu, A., 2011. Value chain analysis in a quality management context. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Economic Sciences. Series V, 4(2), p.121

Preuss, S.P. and Weikum, S.S., 2021. Procurement Programs and Supply Chain Management in Switzerland. Journal of Procurement & Supply Chain, 5(2), pp.10-20.

Reza, M.H., 2020. Marketing Strategy and Sustainable Plan of Unilever. International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development 3(4), pp.680-692

Rigby, D. and Bilodeau, B., 2011. Management Tools & trends 2015. London: Bain & Company.

Steiner, G. A. 2010. Strategic planning. Simon and Schuster.

Stuart, A.M., Pame, A.R.P., Vithoonjit, D., Viriyangkura, L., Pithuncharurnlap, J., Meesang, N., Suksiri, P., Singleton, G.R. and Lampayan, R.M., 2018. The application of best management practices increases the profitability and sustainability of rice farming in the central plains of Thailand. Field Crops Research, 220, pp.78-87.

Sugosha, MJ 2020, ‘The role of profitability in mediating company ownership structure and size of firm value in the pharmaceutical industry on the Indonesia stock exchange’, International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social sciences.

Tien, N.H. and Do Thi, Y., 2019. Comparative analysis of knowledge management software applications at E&Y and Unilever Vietnam. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 6(10), pp.22-27.

ULLAH, N 2021, A Comparative Analysis between Unilever and Johnson & Johnsons, mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de. 

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Zhu, Y. 2016. The World’s Top-Selling Ice Cream Brands. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/yehongzhu/2016/06/21/the-worlds-topselling-ice-cream-brands-2/?sh=42bc50065a89

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