Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd.
The owner of a lumber and building supply business is interested in finding out how much the business is worth and how to go about selling it. The business is currently enjoying considerable success and earnings are at record levels. She must decide which valuation method to choose.
Swot Analysis of "Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd." written by David C. Shaw includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lumber Rushway facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lumber Rushway, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lumber Rushway 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 Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lumber Rushway
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Lumber Rushway
Strengths Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lumber Rushway in Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Lumber Rushway has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lumber Rushway 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Lumber Rushway 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Lumber Rushway is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Lumber Rushway has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Lumber Rushway to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Lumber Rushway is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lumber Rushway is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Lumber Rushway in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Lumber Rushway
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lumber Rushway does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. 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
- Lumber Rushway 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 Lumber Rushway is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lumber Rushway is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Lumber Rushway digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Lumber Rushway 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.
Weaknesses Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. HBR case study mentions - Lumber Rushway 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Lumber Rushway 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Lumber Rushway products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Lumber Rushway needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd., in the dynamic environment Lumber Rushway has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Lumber Rushway has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Lumber Rushway supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lumber Rushway vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lumber Rushway 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 - Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Lumber Rushway 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Lumber Rushway 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Lumber Rushway 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Lumber Rushway, firm in the HBR case study Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lumber Rushway is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Lumber Rushway needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lumber Rushway to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. | 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 Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lumber Rushway 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 Lumber Rushway to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Lumber Rushway 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lumber Rushway can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
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 Lumber Rushway 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lumber Rushway in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Lumber Rushway can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lumber Rushway 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Lumber Rushway can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Lumber Rushway 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, Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd., 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, Lumber Rushway can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lumber Rushway operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Lumber Rushway 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 Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Lumber Rushway to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lumber Rushway 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Lumber Rushway has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Lumber Rushway to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. case study. Lumber Rushway can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lumber Rushway in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
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. Lumber Rushway needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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.
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 Lumber Rushway in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd., Lumber Rushway may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Regulatory challenges
– Lumber Rushway 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Lumber Rushway
– 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 Lumber Rushway.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lumber Rushway 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.
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 Lumber Rushway.
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. Lumber Rushway 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Lumber Rushway 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 Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Lumber Rushway 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. 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 Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. 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 Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. 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 Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. 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 Rushway Brothers Lumber and Building Supplies Ltd. 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 Lumber Rushway needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.