Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization
By 2014, the Walton Group, an electrical goods manufacturer based in Bangladesh, sold its products in over 20 different countries. A decision to utilize the advantages of low labour costs in the company's home country was made in the early 2000s, which led to an increase in value and permitted rapid international expansion. To achieve Walton's mission of "Walton at every home," the company established various specialized support units both inside and outside of Bangladesh. Government tax incentives in Bangladesh had boosted Walton's cost competitiveness, but how else could Walton compete with other international brands to achieve is goals and become a household name worldwide? Nikhilesh Dholakia is affiliated with Aalborg University.
Authors :: Mohammad B. Rana, Mohammad Tarikul Islam, Nikhilesh Dholakia
Swot Analysis of "Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization" written by Mohammad B. Rana, Mohammad Tarikul Islam, Nikhilesh Dholakia includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Walton Walton's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Manufacturing, Marketing, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization,
technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Walton Walton's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Walton Walton'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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Walton Walton'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 Walton Walton's
Strengths Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Walton Walton's in Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Walton Walton's 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Walton Walton's 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 Walton Walton's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Walton Walton's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Walton Walton's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Walton Walton's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Walton Walton's 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Walton Walton'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.
Strong track record of project management
– Walton Walton's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Walton Walton's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Walton Walton'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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Walton Walton's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Walton Walton's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Walton Walton's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Walton Walton's 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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Walton Walton's 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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Walton Walton's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization, in the dynamic environment Walton Walton's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Walton Walton's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization 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 Walton Walton's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Walton Walton's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Walton Walton's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Walton Walton's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Walton Walton's 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Mohammad B. Rana, Mohammad Tarikul Islam, Nikhilesh Dholakia suggests that, Walton Walton's 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Walton Walton's has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
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 Walton Walton's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Walton Walton's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Walton Walton's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Walton Walton's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization 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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Walton Walton's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization | 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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Walton Walton's to increase its market reach. Walton Walton's 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.
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. Walton Walton'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. Walton Walton'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.
Loyalty marketing
– Walton Walton's 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Walton Walton'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.
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 Walton Walton's in the consumer business. Now Walton Walton's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Walton Walton's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Walton Walton'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 Walton Walton's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Walton Walton'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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Walton Walton's can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Walton Walton'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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Walton Walton's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Walton Walton's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Walton Walton's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Walton Walton's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Walton Walton's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization case study. Walton Walton's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization are -
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 Walton Walton's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Walton Walton's 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Walton Walton'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, Walton Walton'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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Walton Walton's is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Walton Walton'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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Walton Walton'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.
Environmental challenges
– Walton Walton'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. Walton Walton's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Walton Walton's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Walton Walton's
– 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 Walton Walton's.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization, Walton Walton'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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Walton Walton'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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization 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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization 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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization 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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization 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 Walton: Building a Global Brand Through Internationalization 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 Walton Walton's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.