SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for P.ACUCAR-CBD PN (Brazil)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that P.ACUCAR-CBD PN can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the P.ACUCAR-CBD PN, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN
2. Improving business portfolio management of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Brazil
4. Making a Retail (Grocery) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN
Strengths of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN are -
Strong track record of project management in the Retail (Grocery) industry
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled P.ACUCAR-CBD PN to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Retail (Grocery) 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.
Ability to lead change in Retail (Grocery)
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN is one of the leading players in the Retail (Grocery) industry in Brazil. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Retail (Grocery) industry in Brazil but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled P.ACUCAR-CBD PN in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – P.ACUCAR-CBD PN staying ahead in the Retail (Grocery) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Retail (Grocery) industry
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled P.ACUCAR-CBD PN to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Retail (Grocery) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped P.ACUCAR-CBD PN to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at P.ACUCAR-CBD PN emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Retail (Grocery) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For P.ACUCAR-CBD PN digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN in Retail (Grocery) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Organizational Resilience of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing P.ACUCAR-CBD PN does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Need for greater diversity
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Retail (Grocery) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Brazil, P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
High dependence on P.ACUCAR-CBD PN ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Retail (Grocery) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though P.ACUCAR-CBD PN has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN is just above the Retail (Grocery) 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that P.ACUCAR-CBD PN needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Retail (Grocery) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at P.ACUCAR-CBD PN can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as P.ACUCAR-CBD PN is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN lucrative customers.
P.ACUCAR-CBD PN Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Retail (Grocery) industry. This can help P.ACUCAR-CBD PN to build a more holistic ecosystem for P.ACUCAR-CBD PN products in the Retail (Grocery) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
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. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects P.ACUCAR-CBD PN can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help P.ACUCAR-CBD PN to increase its market reach. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Loyalty marketing
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Retail (Grocery) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for P.ACUCAR-CBD PN in the Retail (Grocery) industry. Now P.ACUCAR-CBD PN can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Threats P.ACUCAR-CBD PN External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Environmental challenges
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Retail (Grocery) industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 Retail (Grocery) industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
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. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Retail (Grocery) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– P.ACUCAR-CBD PN has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Retail (Grocery) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN in the Retail (Grocery) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, P.ACUCAR-CBD PN may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Retail (Grocery) sector.
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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Retail (Grocery) industry are lowering. It can presents P.ACUCAR-CBD PN with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Retail (Grocery) sector.
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. P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of P.ACUCAR-CBD PN Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN 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 P.ACUCAR-CBD PN needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.