Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges
In 2015, Aro Granite Industries Limited, a successful granite company in India, competed against rivals in Brazil and China to win a coveted, large order from the United States. The order was particularly meaningful because the United States was the most valuable market for Indian granite exporters. Aro Granite Industries had a good reputation and was both financially sound and technically advanced; however, like all granite companies in India, it faced a lack of raw granite despite India having one of the world's largest reservoirs of good-quality granite. The Indian granite industry was also challenged by poor infrastructure for moving the granite, an inconsistent power supply, and an inadequate supply of skilled labour. The company's promoter and managing director needed to ensure the company could overcome these challenges and deliver the order. How should he resolve the challenges and improve the overall import and export conditions for the Indian granite sector? Anand Prakash is affiliated with National Institute of Construction Management and Research. Mahima Mishra is affiliated with Symbiosis Institute of Business Management Pune.
Swot Analysis of "Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges" written by Anand Prakash, Mahima Mishra includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Granite Aro facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Globalization, Marketing and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Granite Aro, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Granite Aro 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Granite Aro
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Granite Aro
Strengths Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Granite Aro in Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Granite Aro in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Granite Aro is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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 Granite Aro
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Granite Aro does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Granite Aro 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Granite Aro in the sector have low bargaining power. Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Granite Aro to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Granite Aro 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Granite Aro 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 Anand Prakash, Mahima Mishra 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
– Granite Aro has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Granite Aro 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
– Granite Aro has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Granite Aro to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Granite Aro 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 Granite Aro is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Granite Aro 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Weaknesses Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Granite Aro 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Granite Aro 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Granite Aro products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Granite Aro needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Granite Aro 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Granite Aro is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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 Granite Aro has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Granite Aro 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. Granite Aro 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.
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 Granite Aro supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Granite Aro vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Granite Aro, firm in the HBR case study Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges, in the dynamic environment Granite Aro has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Granite Aro has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges | 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Granite Aro in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Granite Aro 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Granite Aro 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. Granite Aro can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Granite Aro can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Granite Aro 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 Granite Aro to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Granite Aro can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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 Granite Aro in the consumer business. Now Granite Aro can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Granite Aro can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Granite Aro to increase its market reach. Granite Aro 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Granite Aro 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.
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 Granite Aro 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Granite Aro can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Granite Aro is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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.
Threats Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges are -
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 Granite Aro in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Granite Aro high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Granite Aro has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Granite Aro needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Granite Aro 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Granite Aro 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, Granite Aro 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges .
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. Granite Aro needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges, Granite Aro may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
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 Granite Aro.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Granite Aro in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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 Granite Aro business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Granite Aro 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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 Aro Granite Industries Limited: Competition and Exportation Challenges 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 Granite Aro needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
