Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads
Sai Marine Exports Pvt. Ltd. (SMEPL) had been in business for 20 years and had established itself as one of the major Indian shrimp exporters, with the United States and European Union as its primary markets. Following unprecedented market conditions due to early mortality syndrome affecting the exports of leading Southeast Asian shrimp-exporting countries in 2009, Indian companies were at a competitive advantage. SMEPL's revenues had increased significantly from 2010 to 2014. Its current markets, the United States and Europe, were lucrative, but SMEPL's chairman feared the risks of concentration in only two markets. Should SMEPL penetrate deeper into the U.S. and E.U. markets or enter new international markets like Japan and China? Subhanjan Sengupta and Arunaditya Sahay are affiliated with Birla Institute of Management Technology.
Swot Analysis of "Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads" written by Subhanjan Sengupta, Arunaditya Sahay includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Smepl Smepl's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Smepl Smepl's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Smepl Smepl's 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Smepl Smepl's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Smepl Smepl's
Strengths Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Smepl Smepl's in Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Smepl Smepl's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Smepl Smepl's 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.
Learning organization
- Smepl Smepl's 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 Smepl Smepl's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Smepl Smepl's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Smepl Smepl's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Smepl Smepl's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Smepl Smepl's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Smepl Smepl's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Smepl Smepl's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Smepl Smepl's in the sector have low bargaining power. Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Smepl Smepl's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Smepl Smepl's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Smepl Smepl's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Smepl Smepl's 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.
Analytics focus
– Smepl Smepl's 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 Subhanjan Sengupta, Arunaditya Sahay 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.
Weaknesses Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Smepl Smepl's 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Smepl Smepl's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads HBR case study mentions - Smepl Smepl's 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Smepl Smepl's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Smepl Smepl's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads, it seems that the employees of Smepl Smepl's 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Smepl Smepl's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads, in the dynamic environment Smepl Smepl's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Smepl Smepl's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads, is just above the industry average. Smepl Smepl's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Smepl Smepl's 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 - Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Smepl Smepl's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Smepl Smepl's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Smepl Smepl's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Smepl Smepl's, firm in the HBR case study Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads | 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Smepl Smepl's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Smepl Smepl's 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Smepl Smepl's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Smepl Smepl's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Smepl Smepl's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads case study. Smepl Smepl's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Smepl Smepl's 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Smepl Smepl's 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. Smepl Smepl's 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.
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 Smepl Smepl's 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.
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 Smepl Smepl's in the consumer business. Now Smepl Smepl's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Smepl Smepl's 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, Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads, 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 Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Smepl Smepl's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Smepl Smepl's 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Smepl Smepl's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Smepl Smepl's 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 Smepl Smepl's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Smepl Smepl's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Threats Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Smepl Smepl's is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Smepl Smepl's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Smepl Smepl's 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Smepl Smepl's 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
– Smepl Smepl's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Smepl Smepl's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Smepl Smepl's.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Smepl Smepl's 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. Smepl Smepl's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Smepl Smepl's in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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
– Smepl Smepl's 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. Smepl Smepl's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads, Smepl Smepl's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Smepl Smepl's 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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 Sai Marine Exports at a Crossroads 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 Smepl Smepl's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
