Black Cat Syndicate (BC8) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Black Cat Syndicate (Australia)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Black Cat Syndicate is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Black Cat Syndicate

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Black Cat Syndicate can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Black Cat Syndicate, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Black Cat Syndicate 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 Black Cat Syndicate can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Black Cat Syndicate
2. Improving business portfolio management of Black Cat Syndicate
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Australia
4. Making a Gold & Silver sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Black Cat Syndicate

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Strengths of Black Cat Syndicate | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Black Cat Syndicate are -

Digital Transformation in Gold & Silver industry

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

Organizational Resilience of Black Cat Syndicate

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Black Cat Syndicate does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Gold & Silver industry

– Black Cat Syndicate has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Black Cat Syndicate to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Gold & Silver industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Black Cat Syndicate to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

High brand equity

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

Ability to lead change in Gold & Silver

– Black Cat Syndicate is one of the leading players in the Gold & Silver industry in Australia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Gold & Silver industry in Australia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Black Cat Syndicate in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

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

Strong track record of project management in the Gold & Silver industry

– Black Cat Syndicate is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Highly skilled collaborators

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

Learning organization

- Black Cat Syndicate 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 Black Cat Syndicate is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Black Cat Syndicate emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Analytics focus

– Black Cat Syndicate 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 Gold & Silver industry. The technology infrastructure of Australia 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.

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Weaknesses of Black Cat Syndicate | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Black Cat Syndicate are -

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Black Cat Syndicate 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Gold & Silver industry, Black Cat Syndicate 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

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

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

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

Lack of clear differentiation of Black Cat Syndicate products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Black Cat Syndicate needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Black Cat Syndicate is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Black Cat Syndicate to provide better information regarding Gold & Silver products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential 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 Black Cat Syndicate supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Black Cat Syndicate is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Black Cat Syndicate vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

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

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Black Cat Syndicate is just above the Gold & Silver 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 bargaining power of channel partners in Gold & Silver industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Australia, Black Cat Syndicate is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the Gold & Silver industry.

High dependence on Black Cat Syndicate ‘s star products

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

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Black Cat Syndicate Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Black Cat Syndicate are -

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Black Cat Syndicate is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Black Cat Syndicate can utilize new technology in the field of Gold & Silver industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Black Cat Syndicate to increase its market reach. Black Cat Syndicate 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Gold & Silver industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Black Cat Syndicate 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. Black Cat Syndicate 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Black Cat Syndicate 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Black Cat Syndicate can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Gold & Silver 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

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

Finding new ways to collaborate

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

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Black Cat Syndicate can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Black Cat Syndicate operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Gold & Silver sector.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Black Cat Syndicate 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Black Cat Syndicate can develop new processes and procedures in Gold & Silver 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Black Cat Syndicate 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 Gold & Silver industry.

Buying journey improvements

– Black Cat Syndicate can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Gold & Silver 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.

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Threats Black Cat Syndicate External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Black Cat Syndicate are -

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Black Cat Syndicate 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.

Easy access to finance

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

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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Black Cat Syndicate has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Gold & Silver industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Black Cat Syndicate needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Gold & Silver 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.

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 Black Cat Syndicate in the Gold & Silver sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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 Black Cat Syndicate business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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 Black Cat Syndicate.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Black Cat Syndicate is facing in Gold & Silver sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Environmental challenges

– Black Cat Syndicate 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. Black Cat Syndicate can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Gold & Silver industry.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Black Cat Syndicate may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Gold & Silver sector.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Black Cat Syndicate in Gold & Silver industry. The Gold & Silver 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 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. Black Cat Syndicate needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Gold & Silver industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Black Cat Syndicate Template, Example

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

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