Report on Innovation and Product Management: A Case Study of Unilever

This report delves into Unilever's innovation and product management strategies, employing SWOT and competitive analysis to evaluate the company's market position. It examines the impact of these concepts on Unilever's marketing approaches, highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats the company faces. The competitive analysis identifies key rivals and assesses factors such as bargaining power, the threat of substitutes, and new entrants. By understanding these dynamics, the report suggests strategies for Unilever to enhance its market share, profitability, and brand image. The analysis emphasizes the importance of continuous innovation and adaptation to evolving consumer needs in the face of global competition. Desklib offers more solved assignments and study resources for students.

The Innovation and
Product Manager

Table of Contents
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Part A..........................................................................................................................................3
Part B...........................................................................................................................................5
PART C ......................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
The product managers are responsible within the organisation for driving innovations and
whereas product innovation means the introduction of a product or services which is
significantly improved or new with respect to its intended uses or characteristics. In the present
report, Unilever has taken into consideration and from the assessment 1 the two topics that is
swot analysis and competitive analysis will taken. The review of two concepts will be done that
has found impactful and a critical review of theoretical development of the concepts will be
done. Furthermore to this, a case study of Unilever in product management, marketing and
innovation will be made. In addition to this, the application of the theories and what knowledge
has been gained from the two topics will be examined. Apart from this, a reflection will be made
by explaining the common approach to the marketing case.
Main Body
Part A
In this report I have chosen two topics that is SWOT analysis and competitive Analysis
which can be beneficial for the company and found impactful.
In order to apply the SWOT analysis in the Unilever company to a marketing challenge as it
helps to analyse the company's internal characteristics. Where strengths has been analysed that
where is company's performance is superior and what it do well. As the Unilever has various
different variety of personal care and beauty products that are the strength for them. It is an
advantage also as the customers did not need to look for the other organisation in order to buy
the products. According to me it important for the company in order to increase its future growth
to identify the poor execution and recent failures as weaknesses. It need to eliminate the
weaknesses and the company has expensive products which everyone can afford and customers
go for its substitutes available in the market. It can create an issue for them in order to increase
their consumer scale. Mitigating the threats and find the opportunity in order to get higher
success and able to increase the market share and profitability of the company. According to me
in order to enhance the growth it finds an opportunity to grow and more as they multiple

products and brands at their company. We have to address the threats from SWOT analysis by
the help of strengthening the Unilever to meet the threat and eliminating it by abandoning the
threatened activity. It has a threat as due to the expensive pricing structure it can loose the
potential customers. According to me, I have analysed that the company can make an effective
use of swot analysis in the context of marketing as by working on its weaknesses the company
can increases its sales and build its brand image in the long run in the market. It is an effective
method to analyse and grab the opportunities in the market and able increase the productivity and
fulfil the demand of the consumers.
The another topic is competitive analysis that is the process of identification of the competitors
in the market that which helps the Unilever in order to brief and understand about the company's
goods and services knowledge. To the business success its importance is being proactive rather
than reactive which is vital. The main purpose of the competitive analysis is to understand the
competitors weaknesses and strength in comparison to its own that is Unilever and in an order to
find a gap in the market. In the competitive rivalry, there are many other organisations that are
dealing in the consumer goods where the company can identify the competitors in the market.
Here consumers can easily switch to another company easily by looking at the satisfaction level
and affordability. The bargaining power of supplier can be high as it provides the personal care
products with quality by which they are able to keep the prices of the products high and
expensive as consumers always wanted good quality products and they don't want to go to other
company. Threat of being substitute I have learnt that the company deals in various home
utilisation products as the cosmetics have the huge market. It can be substituted from any other
which deals in the cosmetic products which uses low pricing structure and availability which
allows the consumer and the company has threat of being substituted. I have also learnt from the
threat of new entrant that now a days in the market there are so many companies who are
launching and entrance of the organisation take place where it has been opened by the new youth
and generation who has invented the innovative ideas for selling its products and marketing that
can create difficulty for the company to maintain their growth and stability accordingly. This
application in the context to marketing will going to help the company in to analyse the current
trends in the market, competitors available in the market which will going to help the company
in order to analyse and make its products accordingly so that the consumers won't go or change
to other company. According to me, the company make the good quality products and stay

according to it as by selling its products at an affordable prices. It will going to help in increase
of its sales, productivity, market share and profitability in the market for the future long run.
Part B
Unilever company is a one of the biggest multinational company whose objective is to
provide the variety of products and services in an order to fulfil the daily requirements and needs
of an individual person. The company is located in the London, UK. The company owns on an
around 400 brands with the great turnover in 2020 of nearly 51 billion Euros in United Kingdom.
It was founded in the 1929 by the Lover Brothers. Here the topics has been chosen by me that is
swot analysis and competitive analysis. By the help of the above two topics that is SWOT
analysis and Competitive analysis of the company Unilever the company can increase its
marketing strategies as these strategies can uses the strengths in order to take the advantages of
the identified opportunities. In order to overcome the perceived or actual weaknesses for an
example the no cost advertising or seek low advertising opportunities. The SWOT analysis
according to me will help the company to work on its weaknesses, threats and find the
opportunities so that they can increase the market share, productivity and enhance its sales. By
the help of competitive analysis the company can able to innovative new products in the market
in order to increase the sales and build the brand image in the market effectively and efficiently.
The product management team can learn from the the competitive analysis and from the SWOT
analysis from which the company can learn and able to solve the problems of the company as
well as customers in order to attain the good position in the market effectively and efficiently.
The company can face the global competition due to the international marketplace and
globalisation there are many new entrants of the companies which creates the huge competition
in the market related to its prices, availability and quality of the products. It creates the dynamic
environment at the time of the technological advancement, competitors introduce the similar
products, customers needs and wants changes and evolve regularly as it is important for the
company to make the innovations in the products regularly and product management department
can look forward to it.
PART C
In order to make sure that competition within market is analysed by an organization
helping an organization like Unilever understand market condition since it has multi-pal
competitors in market in order to put effort making an organization attain success from its

competitors. The organization has implied over recognising efforts within market. The bes model
which is applicable in this analysis is porter's five force model which makes Unilever consumers
switch from one place to other as per affordability and satisfaction. Then organization get
competition provided upon product quality is affordable within range. Consumer is able to
bargain with prices form an organization making purchased done over differentiating
organization. Through threat of being substituted Unilever is able to deal with utilization of
products where low pricing structure impacts the availability making Unilever deal with threat
of being substituted. This model has make consumer bargain upon prices. This has helped in
making launching of the organization take place where this organization has been opened by the
new generation people or youth who has innovated ideas for marketing and other strategies
which can create a difficulty for the Unilever to maintain their stability and growth accordingly.
The model deals upon various aspects that has been used in order to make various kinds of
aspects developed within an organization. In order to make sure that various kinds of aspects
has been developed for making an organization like Unilever more popular it has used SWOT
analysis which is an important tool used upon enhancing internal environment within an
organization. The model is based upon improving strength, weakness, opportunity and threat. It
has observed about strength that Unilever has been selling multiple beauty and personal care
products which become strength of an organization within market establishment. The
organization like Unilever has analysed its weakness that is its luxury and expensive product that
has reduced consumer scale. Also it has analysed about its opportunities which are multiple
brands and products over an organization. It has opportunity in terms of its product quality which
is not maintained by an other organization making it capture large market area. Then its threat
has been recognized which is based over pricing structure that an organization is not able to
attain potential within consumer. Also it has threats within its competitors making consumer
switch towards various brands. This is used for making consumer percentage loss by an
organization. These models has been helping an organization like Unilever for developing
various strategies making an organization develop its basic structure which has helps in making
Unilever more effective in nature. It has organization understand about those perspectives which
is important for making its growth possible within market.

Conclusion
From the above report of innovation and the product manager it has been concluded that I
have chosen the two topics for the Unilever company that are SWOT analysis and competitive
analysis. As these two concepts from the module given found to be the most impactful for the
company. In addition to this, their applications in the context to marketing has been explained
and their discussion of the development theories related to the topic has been described.
Furthermore to this, a description of the case study that is Unilever company an issue of product
management, marketing and an innovation has been done. Apart from this, it has been analysed
that the application of the theories in order to the case study that is how the knowledge has been
gained from the two topics that is swot analysis and competitive analysis which creates an
advantage for the company in order to increase the market share, profitability, build brand image,
increase productivity for the company in the future and long run.

References
Aboelmaged, M., 2018. Direct and indirect effects of eco-innovation, environmental orientation
and supplier collaboration on hotel performance: An empirical study. Journal of cleaner
production, 184, pp.537-549.
Farooq, R., 2018. A conceptual model of knowledge sharing. International Journal of Innovation
Science.
García-Granero, E. M., Piedra-Muñoz, L. and Galdeano-Gómez, E., 2018. Eco-innovation
measurement: A review of firm performance indicators. Journal of cleaner
production, 191, pp.304-317.
Greenway, A., Terrett, B. and Bracken, M., 2021. Digital transformation at scale: Why the
strategy is delivery. Do Sustainability.
McKelvie, A., Wiklund, J. and Brattström, A., 2018. Externally acquired or internally generated?
Knowledge development and perceived environmental dynamism in new venture
innovation. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 42(1), pp.24-46.
Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H., 2019. The wise company: How companies create continuous
innovation. Oxford University Press.
Pacheco, L. M., Alves, M. F. R. and Liboni, L.B., 2018. Green absorptive capacity: A mediation‐
moderation model of knowledge for innovation. Business Strategy and the
Environment, 27(8), pp.1502-1513.
Park, H. Y. And et.al., 2018. Family firms’ innovation drivers and performance: A dynamic
capabilities approach. Journal of Family Business Management.
Sun, Y., Liu, J. and Ding, Y., 2020. Analysis of the relationship between open innovation,
knowledge management capability and dual innovation. Technology Analysis &
Strategic Management, 32(1), pp.15-28.
Wendel, S., 2020. Designing for behavior change: Applying psychology and behavioral
economics. O'Reilly Media.