FIBRIA ON NM (FIBR3) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Paper & Paper Products
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for FIBRIA ON NM (Brazil)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , FIBRIA ON NM is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that FIBRIA ON NM can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the FIBRIA ON NM, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of FIBRIA ON NM
2. Improving business portfolio management of FIBRIA ON NM
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Brazil
4. Making a Paper & Paper Products sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of FIBRIA ON NM
Strengths of FIBRIA ON NM | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of FIBRIA ON NM are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– FIBRIA ON NM has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Paper & Paper Products industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of FIBRIA ON NM have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– FIBRIA ON NM is one of the leading players in the Paper & Paper Products industry in Brazil. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Brazil. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– FIBRIA ON NM is one of the most innovative firm in Paper & Paper Products sector.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that FIBRIA ON NM 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.
Organizational Resilience of FIBRIA ON NM
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing FIBRIA ON NM does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at FIBRIA ON NM emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of FIBRIA ON NM in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. FIBRIA ON NM has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps FIBRIA ON NM to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– FIBRIA ON NM has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. FIBRIA ON NM 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– FIBRIA ON NM is present in almost all the verticals within the Paper & Paper Products industry. This has provided FIBRIA ON NM 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.
High brand equity
– FIBRIA ON NM has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled FIBRIA ON NM to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Paper & Paper Products industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For FIBRIA ON NM digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. FIBRIA ON NM 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– FIBRIA ON NM has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – FIBRIA ON NM staying ahead in the Paper & Paper Products industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of FIBRIA ON NM | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FIBRIA ON NM are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
FIBRIA ON NM has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Paper & Paper Products industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on FIBRIA ON NM ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of FIBRIA ON NM still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Paper & Paper Products industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though FIBRIA ON NM has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at FIBRIA ON NM, in the dynamic environment of Paper & Paper Products industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. FIBRIA ON NM has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ less understanding of FIBRIA ON NM strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of FIBRIA ON NM 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.
Skills based hiring in Paper & Paper Products industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at FIBRIA ON NM 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, FIBRIA ON NM has high operating costs in the Paper & Paper Products industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract FIBRIA ON NM lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, FIBRIA ON NM 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 Paper & Paper Products industry using digital technology.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As FIBRIA ON NM is one of the leading players in the Paper & Paper Products industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Paper & Paper Products industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brazil, FIBRIA ON NM needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of FIBRIA ON NM, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Paper & Paper Products 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Paper & Paper Products industry, FIBRIA ON NM 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.
FIBRIA ON NM Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of FIBRIA ON NM are -
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 FIBRIA ON NM 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– FIBRIA ON NM can develop new processes and procedures in Paper & Paper Products 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of FIBRIA ON NM has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Paper & Paper Products industry. This can help FIBRIA ON NM to build a more holistic ecosystem for FIBRIA ON NM products in the Paper & Paper Products 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, FIBRIA ON NM is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. FIBRIA ON NM can utilize new technology in the field of Paper & Paper Products industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– FIBRIA ON NM has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Paper & Paper Products sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled FIBRIA ON NM to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help FIBRIA ON NM to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at FIBRIA ON NM 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 Paper & Paper Products industry.
Buying journey improvements
– FIBRIA ON NM can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Paper & Paper Products 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.
Loyalty marketing
– FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– FIBRIA ON NM 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Paper & Paper Products industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for FIBRIA ON NM in the Paper & Paper Products industry. Now FIBRIA ON NM can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects FIBRIA ON NM 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
– FIBRIA ON NM can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Paper & Paper Products 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 FIBRIA ON NM External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of FIBRIA ON NM are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on FIBRIA ON NM 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 Paper & Paper Products industry and other sectors.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for FIBRIA ON NM in Paper & Paper Products industry. The Paper & Paper Products 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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of FIBRIA ON NM
– 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 FIBRIA ON NM.
Environmental challenges
– FIBRIA ON NM 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. FIBRIA ON NM can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Paper & Paper Products industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– FIBRIA ON NM has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Paper & Paper Products industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, FIBRIA ON NM needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Paper & Paper Products 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.
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. FIBRIA ON NM 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Paper & Paper Products industry are lowering. It can presents FIBRIA ON NM with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Paper & Paper Products sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– FIBRIA ON NM 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.
Regulatory challenges
– FIBRIA ON NM needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Paper & Paper Products industry regulations.
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 FIBRIA ON NM business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Paper & Paper Products industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. FIBRIA ON NM 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, FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FIBRIA ON NM Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM 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 FIBRIA ON NM needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.