Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?
Ministry of Supply is an entrepreneurial venture in the apparel sector. The firm focuses on a specific segment - 'performance professional wear' - within the sector, specializing in clothes that use fabrics with high-tech performance features (such as moisture-wicking, deodorizing, and temperature control) to make professional attire (button-down shirts, dress pants, etc.) for men. The firm has had success in fund-raising and its innovative product has garnered it good publicity, but the unusual combination of seemingly contradictory features - performance fabrics commonly used in outdoor leisure activities and a professional look and design - in the product has also generated cognitive challenges among consumers. How, if at all, can the firm increase the sales of its products?
Swot Analysis of "Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?" written by Mukti Khaire, Hannah Catzen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Fabrics Ministry facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Entrepreneurship, Financial analysis, Organizational culture, Social responsibility and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fabrics Ministry, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fabrics Ministry 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fabrics Ministry
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 Fabrics Ministry
Strengths Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fabrics Ministry in Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Fabrics Ministry is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? 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.
High brand equity
– Fabrics Ministry has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Fabrics Ministry to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Fabrics Ministry is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fabrics Ministry 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 Fabrics Ministry in the sector have low bargaining power. Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Fabrics Ministry to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fabrics Ministry in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fabrics Ministry digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fabrics Ministry 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Fabrics Ministry 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 Fabrics Ministry in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Fabrics Ministry 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? - 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
– Fabrics Ministry has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fabrics Ministry to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fabrics Ministry to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Fabrics Ministry 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? HBR case study mentions - Fabrics Ministry takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High dependence on 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 Fabrics Ministry supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Fabrics Ministry vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Fabrics Ministry 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Fabrics Ministry is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Fabrics Ministry 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. Fabrics Ministry 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?, it seems that the employees of Fabrics Ministry 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?, in the dynamic environment Fabrics Ministry has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fabrics Ministry has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fabrics Ministry 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 - Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Fabrics Ministry 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 Fabrics Ministry products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Fabrics Ministry needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?, 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.
Opportunities Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? | 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? are -
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 Fabrics Ministry 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fabrics Ministry can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fabrics Ministry operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
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. Fabrics Ministry can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Fabrics Ministry can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fabrics Ministry 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Fabrics Ministry 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. Fabrics Ministry can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Fabrics Ministry 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Fabrics Ministry 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 Fabrics Ministry in the consumer business. Now Fabrics Ministry can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fabrics Ministry 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Fabrics Ministry 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Fabrics Ministry 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.
Threats Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?, Fabrics Ministry 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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fabrics Ministry has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fabrics Ministry 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. Fabrics Ministry can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Fabrics Ministry in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Fabrics Ministry 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Fabrics Ministry 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fabrics Ministry 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. Fabrics Ministry needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Fabrics Ministry with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fabrics Ministry is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Fabrics Ministry
– 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 Fabrics Ministry.
Environmental challenges
– Fabrics Ministry 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. Fabrics Ministry can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? 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 Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance? 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 Fabrics Ministry needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
