MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia
The case centers around the strategic planning retreat of MacTara Limited (MacTara), the largest wood products company in Nova Scotia. While there are some very good opportunities for the company in some sectors, like wood pellets for fuel (high demand for inexpensively priced renewable energy sources), the Canadian lumber industry as a whole is not attractive at this time (distortionary effects of the Canadian-U.S. softwood lumber dispute, low price of lumber, sales denominated in the free-falling U.S. dollar, inflexible cost structure, etc). The fact that MacTara is a somewhat vertically integrated company - from construction lumber, to chips for paper mills, to fuel pellets made out of wood waste - makes planning very difficult because the health of each sector impacts on the prospects for the others. Company executives need to find a way to make all the various pieces of the business fit together into a profitable whole while they still have money and time. The Canadian lumber industry is in crisis and the eastern Canadian industry is ripe for consolidation.
Swot Analysis of "MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia" written by Julia Sagebien, Rick Shaver includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mactara Lumber facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mactara Lumber, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mactara Lumber 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mactara Lumber
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mactara Lumber
Strengths MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mactara Lumber in MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Mactara Lumber has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mactara Lumber to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mactara Lumber has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mactara Lumber 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mactara Lumber 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Mactara Lumber has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mactara Lumber 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mactara Lumber in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mactara Lumber digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mactara Lumber 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mactara Lumber is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mactara Lumber 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mactara Lumber is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mactara Lumber to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mactara Lumber to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mactara Lumber is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mactara Lumber 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mactara Lumber 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mactara Lumber is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Mactara Lumber needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mactara Lumber to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Julia Sagebien, Rick Shaver suggests that, Mactara Lumber 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia, it seems that the employees of Mactara Lumber 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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 Mactara Lumber 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mactara Lumber 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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 Mactara Lumber has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia HBR case study mentions - Mactara Lumber takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mactara Lumber has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Opportunities MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia | 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia are -
Buying journey improvements
– Mactara Lumber can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mactara Lumber can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mactara Lumber 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mactara Lumber in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mactara Lumber can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Mactara Lumber in the consumer business. Now Mactara Lumber can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Mactara Lumber 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. Mactara Lumber 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mactara Lumber to increase its market reach. Mactara Lumber will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mactara Lumber can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mactara Lumber 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, MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Mactara Lumber 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mactara Lumber 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.
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 Mactara Lumber 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.
Threats MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia are -
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 Mactara Lumber business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Mactara Lumber 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mactara Lumber 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mactara Lumber with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mactara Lumber is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Mactara Lumber 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mactara Lumber demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
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
– Mactara Lumber 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mactara Lumber high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Increasing wage structure of Mactara Lumber
– 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 Mactara Lumber.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mactara Lumber in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mactara Lumber has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mactara Lumber needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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 MacTara Limited and the Wood Products Industry in Nova Scotia 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 Mactara Lumber needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.