Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , B-R 31 Ice Cream is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that B-R 31 Ice Cream can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the B-R 31 Ice Cream, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of B-R 31 Ice Cream
2. Improving business portfolio management of B-R 31 Ice Cream
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Restaurants sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of B-R 31 Ice Cream
Strengths of B-R 31 Ice Cream | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of B-R 31 Ice Cream are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Restaurants industry
– B-R 31 Ice Cream has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled B-R 31 Ice Cream to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Restaurants industry. The sustainable margins have also helped B-R 31 Ice Cream to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of B-R 31 Ice Cream
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing B-R 31 Ice Cream does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of B-R 31 Ice Cream in Restaurants industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 Restaurants industry. The technology infrastructure of Japan 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of B-R 31 Ice Cream comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Restaurants 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 brand equity
– B-R 31 Ice Cream has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled B-R 31 Ice Cream to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– B-R 31 Ice Cream has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– B-R 31 Ice Cream has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Learning organization
- B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at B-R 31 Ice Cream emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Restaurants industry
– B-R 31 Ice Cream is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– B-R 31 Ice Cream is one of the most innovative firm in Restaurants sector.
Weaknesses of B-R 31 Ice Cream | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of B-R 31 Ice Cream are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that B-R 31 Ice Cream needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Restaurants industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at B-R 31 Ice Cream can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as B-R 31 Ice Cream is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Restaurants industry, B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 Restaurants industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, B-R 31 Ice Cream is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help B-R 31 Ice Cream to provide better information regarding Restaurants products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at B-R 31 Ice Cream, in the dynamic environment of Restaurants industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. B-R 31 Ice Cream has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of B-R 31 Ice Cream products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, B-R 31 Ice Cream needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As B-R 31 Ice Cream is one of the leading players in the Restaurants industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Restaurants industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of B-R 31 Ice Cream is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Restaurants industry, but B-R 31 Ice Cream needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help B-R 31 Ice Cream to focus more on services in the Restaurants industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 B-R 31 Ice Cream supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, B-R 31 Ice Cream is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left B-R 31 Ice Cream vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
B-R 31 Ice Cream Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of B-R 31 Ice Cream are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, B-R 31 Ice Cream is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. B-R 31 Ice Cream can utilize new technology in the field of Restaurants industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for B-R 31 Ice Cream in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Restaurants industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. B-R 31 Ice Cream can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects B-R 31 Ice Cream can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Restaurants industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. B-R 31 Ice Cream can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– B-R 31 Ice Cream can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Restaurants 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help B-R 31 Ice Cream to increase its market reach. B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– B-R 31 Ice Cream can develop new processes and procedures in Restaurants 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Restaurants industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. B-R 31 Ice Cream 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. B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of B-R 31 Ice Cream are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Increasing wage structure of B-R 31 Ice Cream
– 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream.
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
– B-R 31 Ice Cream 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. B-R 31 Ice Cream can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Restaurants industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for B-R 31 Ice Cream in Restaurants industry. The Restaurants industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of B-R 31 Ice Cream.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, B-R 31 Ice Cream may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Restaurants sector.
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. B-R 31 Ice Cream 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that B-R 31 Ice Cream is facing in Restaurants sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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, B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream prominent markets.
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 B-R 31 Ice Cream in the Restaurants sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 Restaurants industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of B-R 31 Ice Cream Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream 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 B-R 31 Ice Cream needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.