Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Office Supplies sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd
Strengths of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Office Supplies 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Linc Pen & Plastics 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Office Supplies industry
– Linc Pen & Plastics 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.
Ability to lead change in Office Supplies
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd is one of the leading players in the Office Supplies industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Office Supplies industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Office Supplies industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Office Supplies industry
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Office Supplies industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd staying ahead in the Office Supplies industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Office Supplies industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Office Supplies sector.
Weaknesses of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of India, Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Office Supplies industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ less understanding of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has high operating costs in the Office Supplies industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Office Supplies industry over the last five years. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Office Supplies industry using digital technology.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Office Supplies industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Office Supplies industry, Linc Pen & Plastics 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.
Skills based hiring in Office Supplies industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Linc Pen & Plastics 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd to provide better information regarding Office Supplies products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Office Supplies 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.
Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Office Supplies industry. This can help Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd products in the Office Supplies industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Office Supplies industry.
Buying journey improvements
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Office Supplies 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Office Supplies 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, Linc Pen & Plastics 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Office Supplies industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd in the Office Supplies industry. Now Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Office Supplies industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Office Supplies industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd 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. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Office Supplies sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd 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 Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd 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 Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Office Supplies 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.
Threats Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd are -
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 Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd 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 Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd prominent markets.
Regulatory challenges
– Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Office Supplies industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Office Supplies industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Office Supplies industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Office Supplies industry are lowering. It can presents Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Office Supplies sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Office Supplies industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd is facing in Office Supplies sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Office Supplies industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd 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. Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Office Supplies industry.
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 Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd in the Office Supplies sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Linc Pen & Plastics 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 Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
