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, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, 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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Analytics focus
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 United Kingdom 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
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.
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.
High brand equity
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Organizational Resilience of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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 -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG, in the dynamic environment of Containers & Packaging industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring in Containers & Packaging industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Containers & Packaging industry. This can help Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to build a more holistic ecosystem for Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG products in the Containers & Packaging industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Containers & Packaging sector.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG.
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 Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG in the Containers & Packaging sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Containers & Packaging industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG 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.
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.
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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is facing in Containers & Packaging sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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.
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.
