Swot Analysis of "Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox" written by William E. Fruhan, William Dewitt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Packaging Carnaudmetalbox facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Marketing, Mergers & acquisitions and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Packaging Carnaudmetalbox, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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 Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox
Strengths Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox in Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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 William E. Fruhan, William Dewitt 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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 Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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 Packaging Carnaudmetalbox in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Packaging Carnaudmetalbox digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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.
Learning organization
- Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Packaging Carnaudmetalbox to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Packaging Carnaudmetalbox to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox 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.
Weaknesses Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox, firm in the HBR case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Packaging Carnaudmetalbox has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Packaging Carnaudmetalbox needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, William E. Fruhan, William Dewitt suggests that, Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Packaging Carnaudmetalbox needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Packaging Carnaudmetalbox to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox, is just above the industry average. Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Packaging Carnaudmetalbox is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox | 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 Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Packaging Carnaudmetalbox in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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 Packaging Carnaudmetalbox to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Packaging Carnaudmetalbox to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Packaging Carnaudmetalbox in the consumer business. Now Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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, Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Packaging Carnaudmetalbox to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox case study. Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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 Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox .
Increasing wage structure of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Packaging Carnaudmetalbox.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Packaging Carnaudmetalbox needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Environmental challenges
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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. Packaging Carnaudmetalbox can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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 Packaging Carnaudmetalbox in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Packaging Carnaudmetalbox 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox, Packaging Carnaudmetalbox may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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 Packaging Carnaudmetalbox business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Packaging Carnaudmetalbox in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox 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 Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox 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 Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox 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 Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox 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 Crown Cork & Seal/CarnaudMetalbox 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 Packaging Carnaudmetalbox needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.