D.B.E. Gurney Res (DBEG) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for D.B.E. Gurney Res (Malaysia)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , D.B.E. Gurney Res is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of D.B.E. Gurney Res

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

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Strengths of D.B.E. Gurney Res | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of D.B.E. Gurney Res are -

Learning organization

- D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at D.B.E. Gurney Res emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– D.B.E. Gurney Res has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – D.B.E. Gurney Res staying ahead in the Fish/Livestock industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Highly skilled collaborators

– D.B.E. Gurney Res has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Fish/Livestock industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of D.B.E. Gurney Res have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Training and development

– D.B.E. Gurney Res has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-Cyclical 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– D.B.E. Gurney Res is present in almost all the verticals within the Fish/Livestock industry. This has provided D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res in Fish/Livestock industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of D.B.E. Gurney Res comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Fish/Livestock 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Fish/Livestock industry

– D.B.E. Gurney Res has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled D.B.E. Gurney Res to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Fish/Livestock industry. The sustainable margins have also helped D.B.E. Gurney Res to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Analytics focus

– D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 Fish/Livestock 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– D.B.E. Gurney Res has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

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Weaknesses of D.B.E. Gurney Res | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of D.B.E. Gurney Res are -

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Fish/Livestock industry, D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, D.B.E. Gurney Res has high operating costs in the Fish/Livestock industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract D.B.E. Gurney Res lucrative customers.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Malaysia, D.B.E. Gurney Res needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Fish/Livestock industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Malaysia, D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 Fish/Livestock industry.

Need for greater diversity

– D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at D.B.E. Gurney Res, in the dynamic environment of Fish/Livestock industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. D.B.E. Gurney Res has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Products dominated business model

– Even though D.B.E. Gurney Res has some of the most successful models in the Fish/Livestock industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. D.B.E. Gurney Res should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, D.B.E. Gurney Res has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Fish/Livestock industry over the last five years. D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of D.B.E. Gurney Res still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Fish/Livestock industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though D.B.E. Gurney Res has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of D.B.E. Gurney Res is just above the Fish/Livestock 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.

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D.B.E. Gurney Res Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of D.B.E. Gurney Res are -

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– D.B.E. Gurney Res has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Fish/Livestock sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled D.B.E. Gurney Res to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help D.B.E. Gurney Res to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Fish/Livestock industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. D.B.E. Gurney Res can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 Fish/Livestock 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, D.B.E. Gurney Res can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that D.B.E. Gurney Res operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Fish/Livestock sector.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, D.B.E. Gurney Res can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help D.B.E. Gurney Res to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. D.B.E. Gurney Res can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help D.B.E. Gurney Res to increase its market reach. D.B.E. Gurney Res 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

– D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

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 D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Fish/Livestock industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for D.B.E. Gurney Res in the Fish/Livestock industry. Now D.B.E. Gurney Res can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for D.B.E. Gurney Res in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Fish/Livestock industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

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Threats D.B.E. Gurney Res External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of D.B.E. Gurney Res are -

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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for D.B.E. Gurney Res in Fish/Livestock industry. The Fish/Livestock 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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Fish/Livestock industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. D.B.E. Gurney Res can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Regulatory challenges

– D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 Fish/Livestock industry regulations.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– D.B.E. Gurney Res 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Fish/Livestock industry are lowering. It can presents D.B.E. Gurney Res with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Fish/Livestock sector.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res prominent markets.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that D.B.E. Gurney Res is facing in Fish/Livestock sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– D.B.E. Gurney Res has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Fish/Livestock industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, D.B.E. Gurney Res needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Fish/Livestock 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, D.B.E. Gurney Res may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Fish/Livestock sector.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 Fish/Livestock industry.

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.

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. D.B.E. Gurney Res needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Fish/Livestock industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of D.B.E. Gurney Res Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res 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 D.B.E. Gurney Res needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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