Case Study Description of Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd.
In July 1996, Jim Gulkin, managing director and founder of Bangkok-based Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd., was considering the emerging business opportunities in neighboring Burma (also known as Myanmar). Although relatively undeveloped compared to the rest of Southeast Asia, Burma had been experiencing increasing levels of foreign investment activity in recent years. Gulkin, who had considered entering Burma in the past but declined, needed to determine whether the time was now appropriate for him to enter the market.
Authors :: John R. Kennedy, Anthony S. Frost, Tom Gleave
Swot Analysis of "Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd." written by John R. Kennedy, Anthony S. Frost, Tom Gleave includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Burma Gulkin facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Marketing and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Burma Gulkin, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Burma Gulkin 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 Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Burma Gulkin
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 Burma Gulkin
Strengths Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Burma Gulkin in Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Burma Gulkin is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Burma Gulkin 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 Burma Gulkin in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Burma Gulkin has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Burma Gulkin 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Burma Gulkin 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 Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Burma Gulkin
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Burma Gulkin does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Burma Gulkin 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 John R. Kennedy, Anthony S. Frost, Tom Gleave 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.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Burma Gulkin digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Burma Gulkin 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.
Learning organization
- Burma Gulkin 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 Burma Gulkin is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Burma Gulkin has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Burma Gulkin to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Burma Gulkin 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Burma Gulkin is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Burma Gulkin is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. are -
Need for greater diversity
– Burma Gulkin 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Burma Gulkin is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Burma Gulkin needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Burma Gulkin to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. HBR case study mentions - Burma Gulkin 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Burma Gulkin has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd., it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Burma Gulkin 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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 Burma Gulkin 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd., is just above the industry average. Burma Gulkin 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Burma Gulkin 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 Burma Gulkin 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John R. Kennedy, Anthony S. Frost, Tom Gleave suggests that, Burma Gulkin is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Opportunities Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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 Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Burma Gulkin in the consumer business. Now Burma Gulkin can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Burma Gulkin can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. 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.
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. Burma Gulkin can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Burma Gulkin can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Burma Gulkin operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Burma Gulkin has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Burma Gulkin to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. case study. Burma Gulkin can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Burma Gulkin 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, Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Burma Gulkin 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 Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Burma Gulkin to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Burma Gulkin is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Burma Gulkin 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 Global Business segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Burma Gulkin to increase its market reach. Burma Gulkin 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Burma Gulkin 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Burma Gulkin 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 Burma Gulkin to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Burma Gulkin 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.
Threats Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd. are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Siam Canadian Foods Co. Ltd., Burma Gulkin may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Burma Gulkin 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.
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 Burma Gulkin in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Burma Gulkin has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Burma Gulkin 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Burma Gulkin 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.
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. Burma Gulkin can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Burma Gulkin 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.
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.
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. Burma Gulkin 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.
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 Burma Gulkin business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Burma Gulkin.
Environmental challenges
– Burma Gulkin 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. Burma Gulkin can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Burma Gulkin is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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 Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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 Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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 Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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 Siam Canadian Foods Co. 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 Burma Gulkin needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
