Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group
Swot Analysis of "Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group" written by Beng Geok Wee, Geraldine Chen, Ivy Buche includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wilmar Palm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Mergers & acquisitions, Supply chain, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wilmar Palm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wilmar Palm 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wilmar Palm
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 Wilmar Palm
Strengths Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wilmar Palm in Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wilmar Palm has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wilmar Palm 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Wilmar Palm 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wilmar Palm in the sector have low bargaining power. Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wilmar Palm to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wilmar Palm 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Wilmar Palm in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Wilmar Palm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wilmar Palm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wilmar Palm 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wilmar Palm digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wilmar Palm 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.
Organizational Resilience of Wilmar Palm
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wilmar Palm does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Wilmar Palm is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Wilmar Palm 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 Beng Geok Wee, Geraldine Chen, Ivy Buche 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.
Weaknesses Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Beng Geok Wee, Geraldine Chen, Ivy Buche suggests that, Wilmar Palm 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group 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 Wilmar Palm 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Wilmar Palm is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Wilmar Palm is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wilmar Palm 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Wilmar Palm, firm in the HBR case study Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group, is just above the industry average. Wilmar Palm 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Wilmar Palm 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group, in the dynamic environment Wilmar Palm has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wilmar Palm has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Wilmar Palm products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wilmar Palm needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Wilmar Palm 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.
Opportunities Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group | 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Wilmar Palm 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, Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Wilmar Palm in the consumer business. Now Wilmar Palm can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Wilmar Palm 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Wilmar Palm to increase its market reach. Wilmar Palm 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wilmar Palm can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wilmar Palm 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.
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. Wilmar Palm 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. Wilmar Palm 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wilmar Palm can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wilmar Palm 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 Wilmar Palm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Wilmar Palm to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group case study. Wilmar Palm can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Wilmar Palm can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Wilmar Palm 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 Wilmar Palm to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Wilmar Palm 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wilmar Palm 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.
Threats Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wilmar Palm is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wilmar Palm with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 wage structure of Wilmar Palm
– 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 Wilmar Palm.
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. Wilmar Palm 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.
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 Wilmar Palm business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wilmar Palm 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wilmar Palm 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group .
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 Wilmar Palm in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group, Wilmar Palm 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
– Wilmar Palm 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wilmar Palm 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.
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. Wilmar Palm needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group 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 Wilmar International Limited - Managing Multiple Stakeholders in a Global Palm Oil Agribusiness Group 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 Wilmar Palm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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