SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Cover 50 SpA (Italy)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Cover 50 SpA is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Cover 50 SpA can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cover 50 SpA, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Cover 50 SpA
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cover 50 SpA
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Italy
4. Making a Apparel/Accessories sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cover 50 SpA
Strengths of Cover 50 SpA | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cover 50 SpA are -
Strong track record of project management in the Apparel/Accessories industry
– Cover 50 SpA is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Cover 50 SpA emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Cover 50 SpA has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cover 50 SpA to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cover 50 SpA 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.
Digital Transformation in Apparel/Accessories industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cover 50 SpA digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cover 50 SpA 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cover 50 SpA has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Apparel/Accessories industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Cover 50 SpA have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Cover 50 SpA is one of the most innovative firm in Apparel/Accessories sector.
Ability to lead change in Apparel/Accessories
– Cover 50 SpA is one of the leading players in the Apparel/Accessories industry in Italy. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Apparel/Accessories industry in Italy but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Cover 50 SpA in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cover 50 SpA has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cover 50 SpA 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cover 50 SpA is present in almost all the verticals within the Apparel/Accessories industry. This has provided Cover 50 SpA 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cover 50 SpA in the Consumer Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Cover 50 SpA has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cover 50 SpA to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cover 50 SpA has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Cover 50 SpA staying ahead in the Apparel/Accessories industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of Cover 50 SpA | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cover 50 SpA are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Apparel/Accessories industry, Cover 50 SpA 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Cover 50 SpA 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cover 50 SpA is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Apparel/Accessories industry, but Cover 50 SpA needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cover 50 SpA to focus more on services in the Apparel/Accessories industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Cover 50 SpA is just above the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cover 50 SpA has some of the most successful models in the Apparel/Accessories industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Cover 50 SpA should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Cover 50 SpA, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Apparel/Accessories 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Cover 50 SpA, in the dynamic environment of Apparel/Accessories industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cover 50 SpA has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Cover 50 SpA has high operating costs in the Apparel/Accessories industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Cover 50 SpA lucrative customers.
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 Cover 50 SpA supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Cover 50 SpA is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cover 50 SpA vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cover 50 SpA 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 Apparel/Accessories industry using digital technology.
Skills based hiring in Apparel/Accessories industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cover 50 SpA 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.
Cover 50 SpA Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Cover 50 SpA are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cover 50 SpA 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cover 50 SpA can develop new processes and procedures in Apparel/Accessories 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cover 50 SpA can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cover 50 SpA operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Apparel/Accessories sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cover 50 SpA in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Apparel/Accessories industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cover 50 SpA has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Apparel/Accessories industry. This can help Cover 50 SpA to build a more holistic ecosystem for Cover 50 SpA products in the Apparel/Accessories 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 Apparel/Accessories industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Cover 50 SpA can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cover 50 SpA 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Apparel/Accessories industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Cover 50 SpA in the Apparel/Accessories industry. Now Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Cover 50 SpA can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Apparel/Accessories 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cover 50 SpA is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Cover 50 SpA can utilize new technology in the field of Apparel/Accessories industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Cover 50 SpA can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Threats Cover 50 SpA External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Cover 50 SpA are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cover 50 SpA has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Apparel/Accessories industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cover 50 SpA needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cover 50 SpA 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 Apparel/Accessories industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA prominent markets.
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.
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 Cover 50 SpA business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cover 50 SpA in Apparel/Accessories industry. The Apparel/Accessories 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.
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.
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 Cover 50 SpA.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Cover 50 SpA is facing in Apparel/Accessories sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cover 50 SpA 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Cover 50 SpA may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Apparel/Accessories sector.
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 Cover 50 SpA in the Apparel/Accessories sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Cover 50 SpA
– 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 Cover 50 SpA.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cover 50 SpA Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA 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 Cover 50 SpA needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.