myNEWS (MYNE) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Retail (Grocery)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for myNEWS (Malaysia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , myNEWS is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that myNEWS can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the myNEWS, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which myNEWS 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 myNEWS can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of myNEWS
2. Improving business portfolio management of myNEWS
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Malaysia
4. Making a Retail (Grocery) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of myNEWS
Strengths of myNEWS | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of myNEWS are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– myNEWS has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. myNEWS 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.
High brand equity
– myNEWS has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled myNEWS to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the myNEWS 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that myNEWS 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Retail (Grocery) industry
– myNEWS has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled myNEWS to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Retail (Grocery) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped myNEWS to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– myNEWS is one of the leading players in the Retail (Grocery) industry in Malaysia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Malaysia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Retail (Grocery)
– myNEWS is one of the leading players in the Retail (Grocery) industry in Malaysia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Retail (Grocery) industry in Malaysia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled myNEWS in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– myNEWS is present in almost all the verticals within the Retail (Grocery) industry. This has provided myNEWS 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of myNEWS in the Services sector have low bargaining power. myNEWS has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps myNEWS to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management in the Retail (Grocery) industry
– myNEWS is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– myNEWS 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 Retail (Grocery) industry. The technology infrastructure of Malaysia 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– myNEWS has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Retail (Grocery) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of myNEWS have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of myNEWS | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of myNEWS are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, myNEWS has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Retail (Grocery) industry over the last five years. myNEWS 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.
Skills based hiring in Retail (Grocery) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at myNEWS 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, myNEWS has high operating costs in the Retail (Grocery) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract myNEWS lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though myNEWS has some of the most successful models in the Retail (Grocery) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. myNEWS should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, myNEWS is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help myNEWS to provide better information regarding Retail (Grocery) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Retail (Grocery) industry, myNEWS 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.
Need for greater diversity
– myNEWS 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, myNEWS 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 Retail (Grocery) industry using digital technology.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, myNEWS 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As myNEWS is one of the leading players in the Retail (Grocery) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Retail (Grocery) industry in last five years.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Retail (Grocery) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Malaysia, myNEWS 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 Retail (Grocery) industry.
myNEWS Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of myNEWS are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at myNEWS 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 Retail (Grocery) industry.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, myNEWS can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that myNEWS operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Retail (Grocery) sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– myNEWS 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for myNEWS in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Retail (Grocery) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help myNEWS to increase its market reach. myNEWS 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, myNEWS 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
– myNEWS can develop new processes and procedures in Retail (Grocery) 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects myNEWS can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of myNEWS has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Retail (Grocery) industry. This can help myNEWS to build a more holistic ecosystem for myNEWS products in the Retail (Grocery) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for myNEWS 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 myNEWS to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Retail (Grocery) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. myNEWS 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. myNEWS 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.
Manufacturing automation
– myNEWS can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Retail (Grocery) 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.
Buying journey improvements
– myNEWS can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Retail (Grocery) 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.
Threats myNEWS External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of myNEWS are -
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.
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.
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 myNEWS.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Retail (Grocery) industry are lowering. It can presents myNEWS with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Retail (Grocery) sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Retail (Grocery) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. myNEWS can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 myNEWS in the Retail (Grocery) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– myNEWS has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Retail (Grocery) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, myNEWS needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Retail (Grocery) 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on myNEWS 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 Retail (Grocery) industry and other sectors.
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. myNEWS 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– myNEWS 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.
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 myNEWS business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, myNEWS 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 myNEWS prominent markets.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for myNEWS in Retail (Grocery) industry. The Retail (Grocery) 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of myNEWS Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at myNEWS 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 myNEWS 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 myNEWS 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 myNEWS 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 myNEWS needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.