Case Study Description of SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool
The case is about the decision to convert a not-for-profit organization into a for-profit company. STFC, which is part of a larger non-profit organization - the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) - works to improve the livelihoods of very poor rural and urban women in India. It does so by translating traditional Indian embroidery skills into contemporary apparel and home furnishings that STFC then helps to market and sell around the world. Organized as a producers' cooperative, STFC is owned by its artisan-members. STFC is thinking of changing to for-profit status because it would enable faster and more sustainable growth by providing access to outside funds, and also allow the payment of dividends, which would further improve the women's livelihoods. The legal and financial implications of such a move aside, it is not clear that STFC would be able to withstand the changes such a transformation would entail. Most importantly, would an organization accustomed to taking decisions based solely on social benefit criteria be able to adjust to a for-profit mentality? And, would customers accept the change?
Swot Analysis of "SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool" written by Mukti Khaire, Kathleen L. McGinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Stfc Sewa facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Economy, Gender, Growth strategy, Innovation, Social enterprise, Strategy execution and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Stfc Sewa, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Stfc Sewa 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Stfc Sewa
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 Stfc Sewa
Strengths SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Stfc Sewa in SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Stfc Sewa is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Stfc Sewa is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Stfc Sewa has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Stfc Sewa 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)
– Stfc Sewa 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Stfc Sewa has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Stfc Sewa 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 Stfc Sewa in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Stfc Sewa
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Stfc Sewa does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Stfc Sewa in the sector have low bargaining power. SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Stfc Sewa to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Stfc Sewa 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 Mukti Khaire, Kathleen L. McGinn 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Stfc Sewa to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Stfc Sewa to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Stfc Sewa 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.
Weaknesses SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Mukti Khaire, Kathleen L. McGinn suggests that, Stfc Sewa 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Stfc Sewa products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Stfc Sewa needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Stfc Sewa, firm in the HBR case study SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Stfc Sewa is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Stfc Sewa needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Stfc Sewa to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 Stfc Sewa has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Stfc Sewa is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool, it seems that the employees of Stfc Sewa 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Stfc Sewa is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 Stfc Sewa 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Stfc Sewa 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Stfc Sewa 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. Stfc Sewa 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.
Opportunities SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool | 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool are -
Loyalty marketing
– Stfc Sewa 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Stfc Sewa can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Stfc Sewa 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, SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Stfc Sewa can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Stfc Sewa 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.
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. Stfc Sewa can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Stfc Sewa 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Stfc Sewa 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Stfc Sewa can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Stfc Sewa to increase its market reach. Stfc Sewa 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Stfc Sewa 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.
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 Stfc Sewa in the consumer business. Now Stfc Sewa 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, Stfc Sewa 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.
Threats SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Stfc Sewa can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Stfc Sewa 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.
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 Stfc Sewa.
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. Stfc Sewa needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Stfc Sewa 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. Stfc Sewa can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Stfc Sewa has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Stfc Sewa 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.
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. Stfc Sewa 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, Stfc Sewa 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool, Stfc Sewa 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Stfc Sewa 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.
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. Stfc Sewa 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.
Increasing wage structure of Stfc Sewa
– 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 Stfc Sewa.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 SEWA Trade Facilitation Center: Changing the Spool 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 Stfc Sewa needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
