Case Study Description of Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy
Tradelink was into the second year of the seven-year franchise granted it by the Hong Kong government. Tradelink's primary task was to transfer all paper transactions between the government and traders/manufacturers to electronic submission format. Furthermore, counters for paper submissions of trade declarations were due to close on March 31, 2000. The task of bringing on board 70,000 traders, the majority of which were small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), seemed immense. At a higher level, Tradelink's mission was to establish an electronic commerce infrastructure within Hong Kong's trading community.
Authors :: Ali F. Farhoomand, Pauline Ng, Kwok-Keung Law, Jan Damsgaard
Swot Analysis of "Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy" written by Ali F. Farhoomand, Pauline Ng, Kwok-Keung Law, Jan Damsgaard includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Tradelink's Tradelink facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tradelink's Tradelink, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tradelink's Tradelink
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Tradelink's Tradelink
Strengths Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tradelink's Tradelink in Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Tradelink's Tradelink in the sector have low bargaining power. Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Tradelink's Tradelink to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Tradelink's Tradelink
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Tradelink's Tradelink does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Tradelink's Tradelink digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Analytics focus
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Ali F. Farhoomand, Pauline Ng, Kwok-Keung Law, Jan Damsgaard 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Tradelink's Tradelink is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Tradelink's Tradelink has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Tradelink's Tradelink is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Tradelink's Tradelink is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Tradelink's Tradelink has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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.
Learning organization
- Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Tradelink's Tradelink is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Tradelink's Tradelink is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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.
Weaknesses Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy are -
Need for greater diversity
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy, is just above the industry average. Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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 Tradelink's Tradelink has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Tradelink's Tradelink is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Tradelink's Tradelink needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Tradelink's Tradelink to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Tradelink's Tradelink is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Tradelink's Tradelink, firm in the HBR case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Tradelink's Tradelink 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 - Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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 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 Tradelink's Tradelink supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Tradelink's Tradelink vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy | 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Tradelink's Tradelink has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Tradelink's Tradelink to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy case study. Tradelink's Tradelink 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
– Tradelink's Tradelink can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Tradelink's Tradelink to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Tradelink's Tradelink is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Tradelink's Tradelink can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Tradelink's Tradelink can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Tradelink's Tradelink 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. Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Tradelink's Tradelink 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, Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Tradelink's Tradelink to increase its market reach. Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Tradelink's Tradelink can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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.
Threats Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tradelink's Tradelink in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Tradelink's Tradelink is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Tradelink's Tradelink can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Tradelink's Tradelink has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Tradelink's Tradelink needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Tradelink's Tradelink
– 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 Tradelink's Tradelink.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy, Tradelink's Tradelink may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
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. Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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 Tradelink's Tradelink.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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. Tradelink's Tradelink needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy 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 Tradelink's Tradelink needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.