Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
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 - – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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 -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) 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.
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.
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.
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.
Learning organization
- Hkana Kong 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 Hkana Kong is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hkana Kong has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hkana Kong 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.
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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hkana Kong 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.
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.
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.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A), is just above the industry average. Hkana Kong 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hkana Kong has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hkana Kong is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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.
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.
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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A), in the dynamic environment Hkana Kong has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hkana Kong has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A) HBR case study mentions - Hkana Kong 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Building Electronic Commerce Infrastructure: Hong Kong Consumer Goods Distribution (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hkana Kong 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.
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.
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.
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 Hkana Kong in the consumer business. Now Hkana Kong can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Hkana Kong 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hkana Kong can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hkana Kong operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hkana Kong 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 Hkana Kong to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hkana Kong 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.
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.
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 Hkana Kong business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Hkana Kong 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.
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 Hkana Kong in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hkana Kong 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.
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.
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.
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) .
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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hkana Kong high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Increasing wage structure of 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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