Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand
In 2002, Neo Sia Meng took over as Executive Director of Four Star Industries Private Limited founded three decades earlier by his parents. After joining the family business as Director in 1996, Sia Meng saw several local and foreign mattress manufacturers enter the Singapore market. This intensified the competition in the local market which was already seasonal and volatile. The increased competition resulted in a proliferation of product offerings from all the manufacturers. The local dealers who dominated the retail mattress market sought an exclusive range of in-house models from the local manufacturers. As Four Star depended heavily on the local dealers, it tried to accommodate their demands to increase its product range and service level. However, as Four Star substantially increased the variety of mattress offerings, its operations became chaotic, and matching demand with the correct inventory of mattresses became a significant challenge. The order fulfillment problems created significant pressures on the manufacturing operations and Sia Meng was worried that these operational problems might provoke some of his long serving employees to consider leaving the company. Sia Meng pondered the short and long term options for Four Star to move towards a responsive, but cost-effective operations model.
Swot Analysis of "Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand" written by S. Viswanathan, D.G. Allampalli includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Meng Sia facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development, Strategy, Supply chain and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing,
increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Meng Sia, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Meng Sia 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Meng Sia
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 Meng Sia
Strengths Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Meng Sia in Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Meng Sia has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Meng Sia is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Meng Sia is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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.
High brand equity
– Meng Sia has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Meng Sia to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Meng Sia to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Meng Sia to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Meng Sia has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Meng Sia in the sector have low bargaining power. Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Meng Sia to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Meng Sia is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Meng Sia 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Meng Sia 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 Meng Sia in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Meng Sia is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Meng Sia has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Meng Sia has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Meng Sia even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand, in the dynamic environment Meng Sia has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Meng Sia has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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 Meng Sia 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Meng Sia 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Meng Sia 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Meng Sia is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Meng Sia 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Meng Sia 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 Meng Sia products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Meng Sia needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Meng Sia is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Meng Sia needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Meng Sia to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand | 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Meng Sia can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Meng Sia 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Meng Sia 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, Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Meng Sia can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Meng Sia 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. Meng Sia 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Meng Sia 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.
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. Meng Sia can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Meng Sia 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Meng Sia to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Meng Sia to increase its market reach. Meng Sia 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.
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 Meng Sia 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Meng Sia can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Meng Sia is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Meng Sia 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.
Threats Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand are -
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.
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. Meng Sia needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Meng Sia 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. Meng Sia can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Meng Sia.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Meng Sia has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Meng Sia 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.
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 Meng Sia in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Meng Sia with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Meng Sia 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Meng Sia 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Meng Sia can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand, Meng Sia may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Meng Sia 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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 Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand 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 Meng Sia needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
