MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry
MAS is an apparel supplier to the world's leading brands. Beginning January 2005, a quota-free international textile trade regime will replace country-specific textile quotas for goods entering WTO member states. Small apparel manufacturers are not expected to survive - Chinese firms could corner as much as 50% of the worldwide market. The case looks at how MAS should be organized to best meet customer demands in a rapidly changing, fashion-driven industry where both speed and flexibility in operations are critical to success. How vertically integrated should MAS become? Should it invest in building a retail brand? Or should it go downstream and bring raw material suppliers in-house? Or instead focus on configuring its supply chain to optimize its existing business processes? How should MAS manage and deploy its IT systems to improve knowledge sharing and information management capabilities across the organization, and perhaps strive for a competitive edge?
Authors :: Carlos Cordon, Donald A. Marchand, Atul Pahwa
Swot Analysis of "MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry" written by Carlos Cordon, Donald A. Marchand, Atul Pahwa includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mas Apparel facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Manufacturing, Mergers & acquisitions, Product development and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mas Apparel, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mas Apparel 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mas Apparel
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 Mas Apparel
Strengths MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mas Apparel in MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Mas Apparel
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mas Apparel does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Mas Apparel 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 Mas Apparel is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mas Apparel is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mas Apparel has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mas Apparel 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)
– Mas Apparel 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mas Apparel is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Mas Apparel is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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
– Mas Apparel has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mas Apparel to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Mas Apparel is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mas Apparel digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mas Apparel 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.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Mas Apparel 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 Mas Apparel in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mas Apparel 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.
Weaknesses MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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 Mas Apparel 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Mas Apparel 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 Mas Apparel, firm in the HBR case study MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Mas Apparel supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mas Apparel vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mas Apparel is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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 Mas Apparel has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Mas Apparel 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mas Apparel is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mas Apparel 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mas Apparel 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. Mas Apparel 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mas Apparel 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 - MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry | 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry are -
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. Mas Apparel can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Mas Apparel 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Mas Apparel 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. Mas Apparel 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mas Apparel 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mas Apparel 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Mas Apparel can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mas Apparel can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mas Apparel to increase its market reach. Mas Apparel 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Mas Apparel 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mas Apparel 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mas Apparel 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mas Apparel 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 Mas Apparel to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mas Apparel has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mas Apparel to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry case study. Mas Apparel can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry are -
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. Mas Apparel can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mas Apparel 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mas Apparel 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.
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. Mas Apparel 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mas Apparel 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mas Apparel 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mas Apparel 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.
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. Mas Apparel needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mas Apparel with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Mas Apparel.
Regulatory challenges
– Mas Apparel 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.
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 Mas Apparel business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Mas Apparel 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. Mas Apparel can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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 Mas Apparel needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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