Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question
Palliser is Canada's second largest furniture company. The company has production facilities in Canada, Mexico, and Indonesia and experimented with cutting and sewing leather in China. The company is looking at further expanding the relationship with China. Ever since Palliser set up a plant in Mexico, the company faced increasing competitive pressure from Asia, especially China. The president of Palliser must decide what form this relationship should follow: an investment, either wholly or partly owned, or through subcontracting?
Swot Analysis of "Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question" written by Paul W. Beamish, Jing'An Tang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Palliser China facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Manufacturing and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Palliser China, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Palliser China 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Palliser China
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 Palliser China
Strengths Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Palliser China in Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Palliser China has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Palliser China 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 Palliser China in the sector have low bargaining power. Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Palliser China to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Palliser China 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 Paul W. Beamish, Jing'An Tang 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Palliser China are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Palliser China is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Palliser China to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Palliser China to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Palliser China 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 Palliser China is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Palliser China is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Palliser China is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Palliser China 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Palliser China
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Palliser China does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Palliser China has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Palliser China to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Palliser China, firm in the HBR case study Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Palliser China 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Palliser China 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Palliser China has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question HBR case study mentions - Palliser China 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Palliser China 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Palliser China 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. Palliser China 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question, it seems that the employees of Palliser China don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question, in the dynamic environment Palliser China has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Palliser China has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Palliser China is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Palliser China is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question | 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Palliser China 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, Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Palliser China 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, Palliser China 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Palliser China 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Palliser China 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Palliser China to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Palliser China 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Palliser China can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Palliser China can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Palliser China 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 Palliser China to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Palliser China in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Palliser China can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Palliser China operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Palliser China can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Palliser China 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.
Threats Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question are -
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 Palliser China in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Palliser China 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 Palliser China business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Palliser China 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Palliser China 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Palliser China 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question, Palliser China 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 .
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. Palliser China needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Palliser China with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Palliser China can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Palliser China is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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 Palliser Furniture Ltd.: The China Question 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 Palliser China needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
