ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China
ForeFront Wood Products produces high-quality wooden door sets. The company faces capacity constraints and inefficiencies resulting from its processes and culture. As a consequence, it struggles to be profitable. ForeFront's parent company, ForeFront Holdings, plans an initial public offering in 2007. It has recently hired a new operations manager with the mandate to turn the factory around. As the operations manager begins his job he tours the manufacturing facilities to gather information on production processes and factors affecting capacity, cost, and conformance. Describes the firm's manufacturing and managerial processes. Many issues are covered, including high costs, low yields, unreported defects, and equipment that fails to operate near its rated capacity. Organizational and change management challenges, including high employee turnover, excessive use of overtime, and failure of supervisors to observe or report employee errors are also described.
Swot Analysis of "ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China" written by Chris J. Piper, Nigel Goodwin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Forefront Processes facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Organizational culture, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Forefront Processes, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Forefront Processes 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 ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Forefront Processes
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 Forefront Processes
Strengths ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Forefront Processes in ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Forefront Processes in the sector have low bargaining power. ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Forefront Processes to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Forefront Processes
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Forefront Processes does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Forefront Processes has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Forefront Processes to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Forefront Processes is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Forefront Processes 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.
Learning organization
- Forefront Processes 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 Forefront Processes is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Forefront Processes is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Forefront Processes digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Forefront Processes 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
– Forefront Processes 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 Chris J. Piper, Nigel Goodwin 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Forefront Processes has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Forefront Processes 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Forefront Processes to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Forefront Processes to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Forefront Processes 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.
Weaknesses ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Forefront Processes is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Forefront Processes needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Forefront Processes to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Forefront Processes 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, Forefront Processes 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. Forefront Processes 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Forefront Processes 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Forefront Processes 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Chris J. Piper, Nigel Goodwin suggests that, Forefront Processes 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China, is just above the industry average. Forefront Processes 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Forefront Processes, firm in the HBR case study ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China 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 Forefront Processes has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Forefront Processes products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Forefront Processes needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China | 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 ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Forefront Processes can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Forefront Processes can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Forefront Processes to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Forefront Processes has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Forefront Processes to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China case study. Forefront Processes can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Forefront Processes 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Forefront Processes 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, Forefront Processes 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, ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Forefront Processes can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Forefront Processes operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Forefront Processes 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Forefront Processes 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Forefront Processes 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 Forefront Processes 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.
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. Forefront Processes can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China are -
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 Forefront Processes business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Forefront Processes
– 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 Forefront Processes.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Forefront Processes 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Forefront Processes 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 ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China .
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. Forefront Processes will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Regulatory challenges
– Forefront Processes 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.
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 Forefront Processes in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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 Forefront Processes.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Forefront Processes 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.
Environmental challenges
– Forefront Processes 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. Forefront Processes can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Forefront Processes 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.
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. Forefront Processes can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China 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 ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China 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 ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China 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 ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China 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 ForeFront Manufacturing: Production Processes and Change Management in Mainland China 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 Forefront Processes needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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