Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future
The Newlight Technologies case is set at the end of 2013. Newlight has been awarded the Innovation Prize for Biomaterial of the Year by nova-Institut GmbH at the Cologne International Conference on Industrial Biotechnology and Bio-based Plastics & Composites. The company has a small-scale pilot plant using enzyme catalysts to produce a bioplastic resin, PHA, which has a wide range of applications for products in the plastics industry. The pilot plant can produce enough resin to perform product trials for a number of end-users at the same time. The innovative process is the fruit of ten years' research and the result promises to be one of the first biopolymers to be economically competitive with petro-chemical based products on price and performance. The case provides details of the global industry, giving scope and scale information for businesses along the value chain, including market segmentation and resin pricing.
Swot Analysis of "Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future" written by Daina Mazutis, Daniel Day includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Newlight Resin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Strategy, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Newlight Resin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Newlight Resin 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Newlight Resin
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 Newlight Resin
Strengths Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Newlight Resin in Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Newlight Resin 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Newlight Resin in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Newlight Resin 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Newlight Resin is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Newlight Resin is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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.
Learning organization
- Newlight Resin 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 Newlight Resin is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Newlight Resin is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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
– Newlight Resin 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Newlight Resin has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Newlight Resin to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Newlight Resin has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Newlight Resin 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Newlight Resin 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 Newlight Resin in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Newlight Resin is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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, Newlight Resin 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Newlight Resin 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 existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Newlight Resin supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Newlight Resin vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future, in the dynamic environment Newlight Resin has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Newlight Resin has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Newlight Resin 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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 Newlight Resin 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Daina Mazutis, Daniel Day suggests that, Newlight Resin 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future, is just above the industry average. Newlight Resin 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future HBR case study mentions - Newlight Resin 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Newlight Resin is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Newlight Resin needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Newlight Resin to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future | 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future are -
Manufacturing automation
– Newlight Resin can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
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. Newlight Resin can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Newlight Resin has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Newlight Resin to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future case study. Newlight Resin can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Newlight Resin 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Newlight Resin 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Newlight Resin is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Newlight Resin can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Newlight Resin 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Newlight Resin 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Newlight Resin 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Newlight Resin to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Newlight Resin can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Newlight Resin 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Newlight Resin 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 Newlight Resin to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Newlight Resin has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Newlight Resin 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.
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 Newlight Resin business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future, Newlight Resin 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 .
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. Newlight Resin 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 wage structure of Newlight Resin
– 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 Newlight Resin.
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 Newlight Resin in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Newlight Resin 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future .
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.
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. Newlight Resin needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Newlight Resin 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Newlight Resin is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Newlight Resin.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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 Newlight Technologies: Plastics for a Carbon Negative Future 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 Newlight Resin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
