Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order
Garry Halper Menswear Limited (GHM) is a medium-sized manufacturer of superior-quality men's suits and jackets that up to now have largely been distributed in Canada. The firm has landed a very large order for men's suits with Sutton's in the United States. To meet the order, the firm has decided to import partly completed suits from China. The treasurer of GHM must assess the financing needs and related risks that result from this large increase in sales. At the same time, he believes that the company's present bank is timid in its response to the firm's needs, and he would like to consider another banking relationship.
Authors :: James E. Hatch, Stephen R. Foerster, Steven Cox, Manpreet Hora
Swot Analysis of "Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order" written by James E. Hatch, Stephen R. Foerster, Steven Cox, Manpreet Hora includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Suits Ghm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Suits Ghm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Suits Ghm 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 Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Suits Ghm
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 Suits Ghm
Strengths Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Suits Ghm in Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Suits Ghm 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Suits Ghm in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Suits Ghm 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 Suits Ghm in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Suits Ghm 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.
Analytics focus
– Suits Ghm 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 James E. Hatch, Stephen R. Foerster, Steven Cox, Manpreet Hora 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.
Learning organization
- Suits Ghm 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 Suits Ghm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Suits Ghm is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order 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
– Suits Ghm has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Suits Ghm 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.
Training and development
– Suits Ghm has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order 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
– Suits Ghm 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 Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Suits Ghm in the sector have low bargaining power. Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Suits Ghm to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Suits Ghm products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Suits Ghm needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order, is just above the industry average. Suits Ghm 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.
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 Suits Ghm supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Suits Ghm vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order HBR case study mentions - Suits Ghm 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Suits Ghm is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Suits Ghm needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Suits Ghm to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order 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 Suits Ghm 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Suits Ghm 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Suits Ghm 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 - Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Suits Ghm, firm in the HBR case study Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order, it seems that the employees of Suits Ghm 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, Suits Ghm 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.
Opportunities Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order | 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 Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Suits Ghm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Suits Ghm to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order case study. Suits Ghm can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Suits Ghm 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Suits Ghm to increase its market reach. Suits Ghm 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Suits Ghm can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Suits Ghm can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
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. Suits Ghm can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Suits Ghm 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
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 Suits Ghm 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Suits Ghm 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, Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Suits Ghm can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Suits Ghm can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Suits Ghm operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Suits Ghm 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Suits Ghm can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Suits Ghm 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 Suits Ghm to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Suits Ghm 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 Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order .
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Suits Ghm is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Suits Ghm 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Suits Ghm has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Suits Ghm needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Environmental challenges
– Suits Ghm 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. Suits Ghm can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Suits Ghm 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.
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. Suits Ghm needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Suits Ghm 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.
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 Suits Ghm in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Suits Ghm
– 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 Suits Ghm.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Suits Ghm 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order 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 Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order 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 Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order 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 Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order 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 Garry Halper Menswear Limited: A Loan Request for an Export Order 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 Suits Ghm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
