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 - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, 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 -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tradelink's Tradelink to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tradelink's Tradelink to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the 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.
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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Tradelink's Tradelink is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Tradelink's Tradelink in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Tradelink's Tradelink in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Tradelink's Tradelink 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 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.
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 -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ali F. Farhoomand, Pauline Ng, Kwok-Keung Law, Jan Damsgaard suggests that, Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
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.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy, it seems that the employees of Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Tradelink's Tradelink is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Tradelink's Tradelink 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. Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
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.
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 -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Tradelink's Tradelink can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Tradelink's Tradelink operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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.
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 Tradelink's Tradelink in the consumer business. Now Tradelink's Tradelink can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Tradelink's Tradelink to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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.
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 Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
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.
Manufacturing automation
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
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 -
Environmental challenges
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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. Tradelink's Tradelink can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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.
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 Tradelink's Tradelink in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Tradelink's Tradelink 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 Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy .
Regulatory challenges
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.