ROSSS (ROSS) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for ROSSS (Italy)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , ROSSS is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ROSSS

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that ROSSS can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the ROSSS, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which ROSSS 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of ROSSS can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of ROSSS
2. Improving business portfolio management of ROSSS
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Italy
4. Making a Containers & Packaging sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of ROSSS

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Strengths of ROSSS | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of ROSSS are -

Analytics focus

– ROSSS 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 Containers & Packaging 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.

Ability to lead change in Containers & Packaging

– ROSSS is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging industry in Italy. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Containers & Packaging industry in Italy but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled ROSSS 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

– ROSSS has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. ROSSS 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.

Digital Transformation in Containers & Packaging industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For ROSSS digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. ROSSS 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the ROSSS 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of ROSSS in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. ROSSS has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps ROSSS to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– ROSSS has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – ROSSS staying ahead in the Containers & Packaging industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Training and development

– ROSSS has one of the best training and development program in Basic Materials 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– ROSSS has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Containers & Packaging industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of ROSSS have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

High brand equity

– ROSSS has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled ROSSS to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Innovation driven organization

– ROSSS is one of the most innovative firm in Containers & Packaging sector.

Diverse revenue streams

– ROSSS is present in almost all the verticals within the Containers & Packaging industry. This has provided ROSSS 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.

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Weaknesses of ROSSS | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of ROSSS are -

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, ROSSS has high operating costs in the Containers & Packaging industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract ROSSS lucrative customers.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of ROSSS is just above the Containers & Packaging 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.

High dependence on ROSSS ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of ROSSS still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Containers & Packaging industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though ROSSS has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

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 ROSSS supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, ROSSS is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left ROSSS vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of ROSSS is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Containers & Packaging industry, but ROSSS needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help ROSSS to focus more on services in the Containers & Packaging industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at ROSSS, in the dynamic environment of Containers & Packaging industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. ROSSS has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As ROSSS is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Containers & Packaging industry in last five years.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, ROSSS 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 Containers & Packaging industry using digital technology.

Employees’ less understanding of ROSSS strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of ROSSS 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.

Skills based hiring in Containers & Packaging industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at ROSSS 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that ROSSS needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Containers & Packaging industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at ROSSS can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as ROSSS is planning to shift buying processes online.

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ROSSS Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of ROSSS are -

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, ROSSS 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.

Manufacturing automation

– ROSSS can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Containers & Packaging 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, ROSSS 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 ROSSS 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 ROSSS has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Containers & Packaging industry. This can help ROSSS to build a more holistic ecosystem for ROSSS products in the Containers & Packaging industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Leveraging digital technologies

– ROSSS 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Containers & Packaging industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. ROSSS can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Containers & Packaging industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for ROSSS in the Containers & Packaging industry. Now ROSSS can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Containers & Packaging industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. ROSSS 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. ROSSS 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for ROSSS 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 ROSSS to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Developing new processes and practices

– ROSSS can develop new processes and procedures in Containers & Packaging 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– ROSSS has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Containers & Packaging sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled ROSSS to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help ROSSS to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for ROSSS in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Containers & Packaging industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at ROSSS 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 Containers & Packaging industry.

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Threats ROSSS External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of ROSSS are -

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Containers & Packaging industry are lowering. It can presents ROSSS with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Containers & Packaging 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.

Environmental challenges

– ROSSS 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. ROSSS can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry.

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. ROSSS 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, ROSSS 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 ROSSS prominent markets.

Regulatory challenges

– ROSSS 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 Containers & Packaging industry regulations.

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 ROSSS in the Containers & Packaging sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– ROSSS 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 Containers & Packaging industry.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– ROSSS has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Containers & Packaging industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, ROSSS needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Containers & Packaging 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.

Increasing wage structure of ROSSS

– 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 ROSSS.

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. ROSSS needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Containers & Packaging industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Containers & Packaging industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. ROSSS can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 ROSSS business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of ROSSS Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at ROSSS 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 ROSSS 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 ROSSS 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 ROSSS 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 ROSSS needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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