Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry
This case takes place as SeA?or Sisig has had three years of increasing success. The case highlights founder Evan Kidera, and the business as a whole, in SeA?or Sisig's efforts to continue the company's success and in pursuing the best growth options. SeA?or Sisig has received great acclaim in its early years. Founder Evan Kidera feels great pressure to capitalize on the opportunities presented to SeA?or Sisig as a result of the hard work in those early years, and at the same time does not want to over-stretch SeA?or Sisig's reach. Beyond maintaining business as usual, Kidera was considering three growth opportunities for SeA?or Sisig: (1) Add more food trucks, (2) expand operations to package products for sales to food retailers, and (3) open a bricks-and-mortar restaurant.
Swot Analysis of "Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry" written by Evan Kidera, Armand Gilinsky Jr., Jeffrey P. Shay, Sally Baack includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sea Sisig facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial finance and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sea Sisig, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sea Sisig 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 Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sea Sisig
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 Sea Sisig
Strengths Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sea Sisig in Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sea Sisig is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Sea Sisig 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 Evan Kidera, Armand Gilinsky Jr., Jeffrey P. Shay, Sally Baack 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sea Sisig to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sea Sisig to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sea Sisig has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sea Sisig 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sea Sisig 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sea Sisig 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 Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sea Sisig is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sea Sisig 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.
Training and development
– Sea Sisig has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sea Sisig 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 Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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
– Sea Sisig has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sea Sisig to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sea Sisig is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Sea Sisig needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sea Sisig to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry, in the dynamic environment Sea Sisig has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sea Sisig has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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 Sea Sisig 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sea Sisig products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sea Sisig needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Sea Sisig supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sea Sisig vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry, is just above the industry average. Sea Sisig 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sea Sisig has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sea Sisig 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sea Sisig 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sea Sisig 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. Sea Sisig 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.
Opportunities Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry | 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 Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sea Sisig has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sea Sisig to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry case study. Sea Sisig 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, Sea Sisig 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sea Sisig 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sea Sisig 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, Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry, 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
– Sea Sisig 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sea Sisig is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Sea Sisig 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.
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 Sea Sisig in the consumer business. Now Sea Sisig can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Sea Sisig can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sea Sisig 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 Sea Sisig to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Sea Sisig can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sea Sisig 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sea Sisig 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.
Threats Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry are -
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 Sea Sisig.
Increasing wage structure of Sea Sisig
– 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 Sea Sisig.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sea Sisig 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Sea Sisig 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 Sea Sisig 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.
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 Sea Sisig business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry, Sea Sisig 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. Sea Sisig 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sea Sisig is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Sea Sisig needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Sea Sisig 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. Sea Sisig can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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 Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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 Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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 Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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 Senor Sisig: Hungry for Growth in the Food Truck Industry 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 Sea Sisig needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
