JK Lakshmi Cement (JKLC) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Construction - Raw Materials
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for JK Lakshmi Cement (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , JK Lakshmi Cement is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of JK Lakshmi Cement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that JK Lakshmi Cement can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the JK Lakshmi Cement, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which JK Lakshmi Cement 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 JK Lakshmi Cement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of JK Lakshmi Cement
2. Improving business portfolio management of JK Lakshmi Cement
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Construction - Raw Materials sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of JK Lakshmi Cement
Strengths of JK Lakshmi Cement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of JK Lakshmi Cement are -
Strong track record of project management in the Construction - Raw Materials industry
– JK Lakshmi Cement is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Construction - Raw Materials industry
– JK Lakshmi Cement has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled JK Lakshmi Cement to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Construction - Raw Materials industry. The sustainable margins have also helped JK Lakshmi Cement to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Training and development
– JK Lakshmi Cement has one of the best training and development program in Capital Goods industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Analytics focus
– JK Lakshmi Cement 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 Construction - Raw Materials industry. The technology infrastructure of India is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Highly skilled collaborators
– JK Lakshmi Cement has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Construction - Raw Materials industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of JK Lakshmi Cement have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– JK Lakshmi Cement has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled JK Lakshmi Cement to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of JK Lakshmi Cement comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Construction - Raw Materials 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of JK Lakshmi Cement in Construction - Raw Materials industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- JK Lakshmi Cement 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 JK Lakshmi Cement is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at JK Lakshmi Cement emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Construction - Raw Materials
– JK Lakshmi Cement is one of the leading players in the Construction - Raw Materials industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Construction - Raw Materials industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled JK Lakshmi Cement in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– JK Lakshmi Cement is one of the most innovative firm in Construction - Raw Materials sector.
Weaknesses of JK Lakshmi Cement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of JK Lakshmi Cement are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, JK Lakshmi Cement has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Construction - Raw Materials industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of JK Lakshmi Cement is just above the Construction - Raw Materials industry average. It 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Skills based hiring in Construction - Raw Materials industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at JK Lakshmi Cement, in the dynamic environment of Construction - Raw Materials industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. JK Lakshmi Cement has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that JK Lakshmi Cement needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Construction - Raw Materials industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at JK Lakshmi Cement can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as JK Lakshmi Cement is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of JK Lakshmi Cement, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Construction - Raw Materials industry. 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, JK Lakshmi Cement is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help JK Lakshmi Cement to provide better information regarding Construction - Raw Materials products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Construction - Raw Materials industry, JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
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 JK Lakshmi Cement supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, JK Lakshmi Cement is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left JK Lakshmi Cement vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though JK Lakshmi Cement has some of the most successful models in the Construction - Raw Materials industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. JK Lakshmi Cement should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
JK Lakshmi Cement Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of JK Lakshmi Cement are -
Developing new processes and practices
– JK Lakshmi Cement can develop new processes and procedures in Construction - Raw Materials 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, JK Lakshmi Cement is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. JK Lakshmi Cement can utilize new technology in the field of Construction - Raw Materials industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Loyalty marketing
– JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Construction - Raw Materials industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. JK Lakshmi Cement 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. JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, JK Lakshmi Cement 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 JK Lakshmi Cement to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects JK Lakshmi Cement can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– JK Lakshmi Cement has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Construction - Raw Materials sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled JK Lakshmi Cement to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help JK Lakshmi Cement to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help JK Lakshmi Cement to increase its market reach. JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of JK Lakshmi Cement has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Construction - Raw Materials industry. This can help JK Lakshmi Cement to build a more holistic ecosystem for JK Lakshmi Cement products in the Construction - Raw Materials industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, JK Lakshmi Cement can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that JK Lakshmi Cement operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Construction - Raw Materials sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for JK Lakshmi Cement in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Construction - Raw Materials industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats JK Lakshmi Cement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of JK Lakshmi Cement are -
Increasing wage structure of JK Lakshmi Cement
– 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 JK Lakshmi Cement.
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 JK Lakshmi Cement.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– JK Lakshmi Cement 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 Construction - Raw Materials industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– JK Lakshmi Cement has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Construction - Raw Materials industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, JK Lakshmi Cement needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Construction - Raw Materials 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 Construction - Raw Materials industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. JK Lakshmi Cement can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Construction - Raw Materials industry are lowering. It can presents JK Lakshmi Cement with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Construction - Raw Materials sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for JK Lakshmi Cement in Construction - Raw Materials industry. The Construction - Raw Materials industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
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. JK Lakshmi Cement needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Construction - Raw Materials industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– JK Lakshmi Cement 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. JK Lakshmi Cement can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Construction - Raw Materials industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on JK Lakshmi Cement 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 Construction - Raw Materials 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.
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. JK Lakshmi Cement 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of JK Lakshmi Cement Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at JK Lakshmi Cement 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 JK Lakshmi Cement 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 JK Lakshmi Cement 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 JK Lakshmi Cement 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 JK Lakshmi Cement needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
