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 - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, 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 -
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.
Analytics focus
– Mas Apparel 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 Carlos Cordon, Donald A. Marchand, Atul Pahwa 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mas Apparel in the sector have low bargaining power. MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mas Apparel to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
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.
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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mas Apparel to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mas Apparel to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry, it seems that the employees of Mas Apparel 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mas Apparel is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Mas Apparel needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mas Apparel to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry, in the dynamic environment Mas Apparel has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mas Apparel 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 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mas Apparel 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.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mas Apparel needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mas Apparel 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry, is just above the industry average. Mas Apparel 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.
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 -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mas Apparel to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mas Apparel 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 MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mas Apparel to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Mas Apparel 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.
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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mas Apparel is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. MAS Holdings: Providing Design to Delivery Solutions to the Global Apparel Industry 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.
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.
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 Mas Apparel in the consumer business. Now Mas Apparel can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mas Apparel 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.
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 -
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 .
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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mas Apparel is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Mas Apparel
– 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 Mas Apparel.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mas Apparel has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mas Apparel 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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