Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti (RICC) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti (Italy)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Italy
4. Making a Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti
Strengths of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti are -
Strong track record of project management in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
High brand equity
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti staying ahead in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. The technology infrastructure of Italy 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
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti are -
Skills based hiring in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti, in the dynamic environment of Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry over the last five years. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti is one of the leading players in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti has some of the most successful models in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Italy, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry using digital technology.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti are -
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. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti to increase its market reach. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. This can help Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti to build a more holistic ecosystem for Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti products in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can utilize new technology in the field of Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can develop new processes and procedures in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Threats Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti are -
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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. The Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti is facing in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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.
Increasing wage structure of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti
– 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector.
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, Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti prominent markets.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry are lowering. It can presents Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector.
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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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. Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti 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 Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.