Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market
In April 2012, Karen Oldfield, President and Chief Executive Officer of Halifax Port Authority (HPA), was considering urgently needed action on the disposition of the financially troubled Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market (HSFM). One of 18 Canada Port Authorities, HPA's mandate was to "develop, market, and manage its assets in order to foster and promote trade and transportation." The organization exercised management authority over Halifax Harbour and 258 acres of adjacent federal land and HPA-owned facilities. Its lines of business encompassed cargo handling, cruise, and real estate operations. HPA had launched a Seaport Redevelopment Plan in 2005. An integral component of that plan was the establishment in 2010 of a six-day-a-week HSFM that would service the cruise trade and provide the local community with a gathering place. The market was operated by the City Market of Halifax Cooperative Ltd. (CMHC), which leased the property from HPA. By 2012, CMHC revenues were failing to support operating expenses and debt. Current obligations that totaled $732,436 were past due. A consultant concluded that the performance failure was due to a high debt load, governance and management problems, an unclear identity, construction flaws, and insufficient revenue on weekdays. It was clear that without intervention, HSFM would fail soon. Should HPA allow the market to fail and put the property up for lease? Should the organization continue providing financial and management support to the current tenant? Should it endeavor to find another organization to operate the market? Or should it commit to operating the market, even though HPA did not normally operate the facilities it governed?
Swot Analysis of "Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market" written by Ramon G. Baltazar, Shamsud Chowdhury includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hpa Halifax facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy execution and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hpa Halifax, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hpa Halifax 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hpa Halifax
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 Hpa Halifax
Strengths Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hpa Halifax in Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hpa Halifax has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hpa Halifax has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hpa Halifax 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hpa Halifax to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hpa Halifax to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hpa Halifax 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hpa Halifax in the sector have low bargaining power. Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hpa Halifax to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Hpa Halifax
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hpa Halifax does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hpa Halifax is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hpa Halifax 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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.
Analytics focus
– Hpa Halifax 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 Ramon G. Baltazar, Shamsud Chowdhury 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Hpa Halifax is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Hpa Halifax has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hpa Halifax to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market HBR case study mentions - Hpa Halifax 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market, in the dynamic environment Hpa Halifax has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hpa Halifax has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hpa Halifax, firm in the HBR case study Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 Hpa Halifax has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hpa Halifax products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hpa Halifax needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 Hpa Halifax 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hpa Halifax 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ramon G. Baltazar, Shamsud Chowdhury suggests that, Hpa Halifax 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hpa Halifax is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market, it seems that the employees of Hpa Halifax 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Hpa Halifax 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.
Opportunities Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market | 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market are -
Loyalty marketing
– Hpa Halifax 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hpa Halifax to increase its market reach. Hpa Halifax 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. Hpa Halifax 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, Hpa Halifax 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, Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Hpa Halifax 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hpa Halifax 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hpa Halifax 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.
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. Hpa Halifax 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. Hpa Halifax 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hpa Halifax 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hpa Halifax 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.
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 Hpa Halifax in the consumer business. Now Hpa Halifax can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hpa Halifax is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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.
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 Hpa Halifax 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hpa Halifax 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.
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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Hpa Halifax 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hpa Halifax 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market .
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. Hpa Halifax 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Hpa Halifax 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 Hpa Halifax 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market, Hpa Halifax 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 .
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 Hpa Halifax business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hpa Halifax is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Hpa Halifax
– 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 Hpa Halifax.
Environmental challenges
– Hpa Halifax 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. Hpa Halifax can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hpa Halifax 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 Halifax Port Authority and the Seaport Farmers' Market 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 Hpa Halifax needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
