Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG (0NZ7) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Containers & Packaging
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG (United Kingdom)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Containers & Packaging sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG
Strengths of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG are -
Digital Transformation in Containers & Packaging industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Containers & Packaging industry
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is one of the most innovative firm in Containers & Packaging sector.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Training and development
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging industry in United Kingdom. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United Kingdom. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Containers & Packaging
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging industry in United Kingdom. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Containers & Packaging industry in United Kingdom but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Containers & Packaging 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is present in almost all the verticals within the Containers & Packaging industry. This has provided Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG in Containers & Packaging industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Containers & Packaging industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Containers & Packaging industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United Kingdom, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Containers & Packaging industry.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Containers & Packaging industry over the last five years. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has some of the most successful models in the Containers & Packaging industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Containers & Packaging industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United Kingdom, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Containers & Packaging industry, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
High dependence on Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
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. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Containers & Packaging 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can utilize new technology in the field of Containers & Packaging industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG in the Containers & Packaging industry. Now Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to increase its market reach. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Threats Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Containers & Packaging industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry.
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.
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. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Containers & Packaging sector.
Increasing wage structure of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG
– 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG in Containers & Packaging industry. The Containers & Packaging 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
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. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Containers & Packaging industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG prominent markets.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Containers & Packaging industry are lowering. It can presents Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Containers & Packaging sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.