San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version
MacDowell Corp., a producer of construction supplies, terminated its exclusive distribution arrangement with San Fabian Supply Co., its sole distributor in the Philippines for nearly 20 years. Paul Cheng the owner of San Fabian had to decide whether to accept MacDowell's decision or drop the line altogether. The case raises the notion of "relationships" in channels of distribution. MacDowell and San Fabian both felt that they were better positioned to serve the end-user and increase market penetration.
Swot Analysis of "San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version" written by Claudine B. Malone, Neil Harrison includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Fabian Macdowell facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fabian Macdowell, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fabian Macdowell 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 San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fabian Macdowell
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Fabian Macdowell
Strengths San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fabian Macdowell in San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fabian Macdowell digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fabian Macdowell 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.
Organizational Resilience of Fabian Macdowell
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Fabian Macdowell does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Fabian Macdowell 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 industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Claudine B. Malone, Neil Harrison can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fabian Macdowell has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fabian Macdowell has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Fabian Macdowell has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Fabian Macdowell in the sector have low bargaining power. San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Fabian Macdowell to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fabian Macdowell in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Fabian Macdowell has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Fabian Macdowell is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Fabian Macdowell in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fabian Macdowell are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fabian Macdowell to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fabian Macdowell to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fabian Macdowell has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fabian Macdowell has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Fabian Macdowell is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Fabian Macdowell needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Fabian Macdowell to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Fabian Macdowell is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Fabian Macdowell 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Fabian Macdowell has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Fabian Macdowell 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Fabian Macdowell 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Claudine B. Malone, Neil Harrison suggests that, Fabian Macdowell 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 industry.
Need for greater diversity
– Fabian Macdowell 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Fabian Macdowell has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fabian Macdowell has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fabian Macdowell can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fabian Macdowell operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Fabian Macdowell 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Fabian Macdowell to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
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. Fabian Macdowell can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fabian Macdowell has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Fabian Macdowell to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version case study. Fabian Macdowell can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fabian Macdowell 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
– Fabian Macdowell can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version suggest that firm 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Fabian Macdowell 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 Fabian Macdowell to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Fabian Macdowell 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, as suggested in case study, San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Fabian Macdowell can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Fabian Macdowell can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Fabian Macdowell is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Fabian Macdowell can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version are -
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. Fabian Macdowell needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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 Fabian Macdowell in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Fabian Macdowell 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. Fabian Macdowell can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version, Fabian Macdowell may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fabian Macdowell 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 field.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Fabian Macdowell will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Fabian Macdowell business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fabian Macdowell has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fabian Macdowell needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Fabian Macdowell can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fabian Macdowell can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version .
Regulatory challenges
– Fabian Macdowell 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
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 San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version 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 the case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version 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 the Harvard case study San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version 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 San Fabian Supply Co. (Philippines), Spanish Version is 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 Fabian Macdowell needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.