Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B)
By 2006, the Point Lisas Industrial Estate (PLIPDECO) consisted of approximately 44 industrial sites on 1,000 hectares of land. Some in Trinidad advocated the creation of additional estates as well as expansion into business like aluminum, which required a great deal of energy. The government of Trinidad had continued a menu of tax exemptions and incentives, and substantial additional foreign investments were expected. Meanwhile, Hugo Chavez had become President of Venezuela and had instituted a socialist, anti-American regime that was seizing assets and rewriting contracts with foreign investors. Trinidad looked like a favourable investment site compared with Venezuela. However, not all was happiness. The businesses involved with PLIPDECO needed relatively few employees. Some in Trinidad referred to this reality as the "curse of oil."
Swot Analysis of "Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B)" written by David W. Conklin, Danielle Cadieux includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Trinidad Lisas facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Regulation, Social responsibility, Sustainability and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Trinidad Lisas, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Trinidad Lisas 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Trinidad Lisas
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Trinidad Lisas
Strengths Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Trinidad Lisas in Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Trinidad Lisas has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Trinidad Lisas to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Trinidad Lisas 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 David W. Conklin, Danielle Cadieux 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
– Trinidad Lisas has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Trinidad Lisas 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.
Organizational Resilience of Trinidad Lisas
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Trinidad Lisas does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Trinidad Lisas is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Trinidad Lisas in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Trinidad Lisas digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Trinidad Lisas 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Trinidad Lisas 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Trinidad Lisas 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Trinidad Lisas 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
– Trinidad Lisas has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Trinidad Lisas to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Trinidad Lisas to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B), in the dynamic environment Trinidad Lisas has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Trinidad Lisas 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 Trinidad Lisas supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Trinidad Lisas vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Trinidad Lisas is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Trinidad Lisas 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 - Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Trinidad Lisas has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Lack of clear differentiation of Trinidad Lisas products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Trinidad Lisas needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Trinidad Lisas 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. Trinidad Lisas 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Trinidad Lisas is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Trinidad Lisas needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Trinidad Lisas 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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 Trinidad Lisas 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Trinidad Lisas 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B), it seems that the employees of Trinidad Lisas 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.
Opportunities Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) | 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) are -
Manufacturing automation
– Trinidad Lisas can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Trinidad Lisas 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Trinidad Lisas to increase its market reach. Trinidad Lisas 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Trinidad Lisas can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Trinidad Lisas can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Trinidad Lisas has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Trinidad Lisas to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) case study. Trinidad Lisas can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Trinidad Lisas can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Trinidad Lisas in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Trinidad Lisas 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 Trinidad Lisas to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Trinidad Lisas can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Trinidad Lisas is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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
– Trinidad Lisas can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Trinidad Lisas 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, Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) are -
Increasing wage structure of Trinidad Lisas
– 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 Trinidad Lisas.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Trinidad Lisas with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Trinidad Lisas 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Trinidad Lisas 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Trinidad Lisas 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 Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Trinidad Lisas 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 Trinidad Lisas in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Trinidad Lisas has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Trinidad Lisas needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Trinidad Lisas 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Trinidad Lisas in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Trinidad Lisas 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 Global Business industry regulations.
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.
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. Trinidad Lisas needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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 Point Lisas Industrial Estate: Trinidad (B) 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 Trinidad Lisas needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
