Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A)
Hong Kong Article Numbering Association's (HKANA) mission was to promote and facilitate efficient trade practices and to contribute toward the continued global competitiveness of Hong Kong companies. As such, HKANA had been successful in introducing EAN bar codes to Hong Kong manufacturers and retailers. The challenge now was to convince retailers to use the scanned bar codes in their stock planning and replenishment cycles. This would optimize existing routines and take costs out of the replenishment process.
Swot Analysis of "Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A)" written by Jan Damsgaard, Ali F. Farhoomand includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hkana Kong facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hkana Kong, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hkana Kong 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hkana Kong
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 Hkana Kong
Strengths Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hkana Kong in Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hkana Kong 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) - 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 Hkana Kong in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Hkana Kong
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hkana Kong does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Hkana Kong has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hkana Kong to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Hkana Kong 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 Jan Damsgaard, Ali F. Farhoomand 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hkana Kong in the sector have low bargaining power. Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hkana Kong to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Hkana Kong has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hkana Kong 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
– Hkana Kong is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hkana Kong digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hkana Kong 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hkana Kong is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Hkana Kong 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 Hkana Kong in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hkana Kong 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hkana Kong 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
– Hkana Kong 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jan Damsgaard, Ali F. Farhoomand suggests that, Hkana Kong 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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 Hkana Kong has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hkana Kong products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hkana Kong needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hkana Kong is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hkana Kong is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Hkana Kong needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hkana Kong to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hkana Kong 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. Hkana Kong 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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 Hkana Kong 's lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hkana Kong 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.
Opportunities Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) | 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hkana Kong has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hkana Kong to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) case study. Hkana Kong can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hkana Kong 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. Hkana Kong can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Hkana Kong can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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.
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. Hkana Kong 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. Hkana Kong 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hkana Kong can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hkana Kong 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, Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A), 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
– Hkana Kong 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 Hkana Kong to increase its market reach. Hkana Kong 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 Hkana Kong 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hkana Kong is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hkana Kong 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hkana Kong to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hkana Kong 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hkana Kong is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A), Hkana Kong 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hkana Kong with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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. Hkana Kong can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Hkana Kong 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. Hkana Kong can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hkana Kong 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hkana Kong 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hkana Kong 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) .
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. Hkana Kong 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.
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. Hkana Kong needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Hkana Kong
– 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 Hkana Kong.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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 Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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 Hkana Kong needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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