SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Sreeleathers Ltd (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Sreeleathers Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Sreeleathers Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sreeleathers Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Sreeleathers Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Sreeleathers Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sreeleathers Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Footwear sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sreeleathers Ltd
Strengths of Sreeleathers Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sreeleathers Ltd are -
Training and development
– Sreeleathers Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Consumer Cyclical 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sreeleathers Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
Learning organization
- Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Sreeleathers Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Sreeleathers Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sreeleathers Ltd in Footwear industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Sreeleathers Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Footwear sector.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sreeleathers Ltd in the Consumer Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Sreeleathers Ltd has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sreeleathers Ltd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sreeleathers Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Footwear industry. This has provided Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Footwear industry
– Sreeleathers Ltd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Footwear 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.
Ability to lead change in Footwear
– Sreeleathers Ltd is one of the leading players in the Footwear industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Footwear industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Sreeleathers Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Sreeleathers Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sreeleathers Ltd are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sreeleathers Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Footwear industry, but Sreeleathers Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sreeleathers Ltd to focus more on services in the Footwear industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Footwear industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sreeleathers Ltd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Sreeleathers Ltd to provide better information regarding Footwear products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sreeleathers Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Footwear industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Sreeleathers Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Footwear industry, Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sreeleathers Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sreeleathers Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Sreeleathers Ltd has high operating costs in the Footwear industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Sreeleathers Ltd lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring in Footwear industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
High dependence on Sreeleathers Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Sreeleathers Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Footwear industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Sreeleathers Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sreeleathers Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Footwear industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Sreeleathers Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Sreeleathers Ltd are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sreeleathers Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Footwear industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Sreeleathers Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Footwear sector. 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sreeleathers Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Footwear industry. This can help Sreeleathers Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Sreeleathers Ltd products in the Footwear industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Footwear industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sreeleathers Ltd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Sreeleathers Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Footwear industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sreeleathers Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Footwear sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Sreeleathers Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sreeleathers Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sreeleathers Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sreeleathers Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Footwear sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sreeleathers Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Footwear industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Footwear industry.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Sreeleathers Ltd to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
Threats Sreeleathers Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Sreeleathers Ltd are -
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 Sreeleathers Ltd in the Footwear sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Footwear industry and other sectors.
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. Sreeleathers Ltd 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.
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. Sreeleathers Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Footwear industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Footwear industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Footwear industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Sreeleathers Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Footwear 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sreeleathers Ltd in Footwear industry. The Footwear 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.
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 Sreeleathers Ltd.
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 Sreeleathers Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Footwear industry are lowering. It can presents Sreeleathers Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Footwear sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Sreeleathers Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Sreeleathers Ltd 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 Sreeleathers Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.