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 - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization,
geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, 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 -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Tradelink's Tradelink has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Tradelink's Tradelink has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Tradelink's Tradelink to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd.: Implementation Strategy HBR case study mentions - Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tradelink's Tradelink products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tradelink's Tradelink needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
Loyalty marketing
– Tradelink's Tradelink 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.
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.
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. Tradelink's Tradelink can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Tradelink's Tradelink business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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 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.
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 .
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.