Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd (TASE) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Containers & Packaging
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd (Singapore)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Containers & Packaging sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd
Strengths of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging industry in Singapore. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Singapore. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Containers & Packaging industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Containers & Packaging industry
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Containers & Packaging sector.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Containers & Packaging industry. This has provided Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Training and development
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Basic Materials 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Containers & Packaging 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 Containers & Packaging industry
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Containers & Packaging industry, but Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd to focus more on services in the Containers & Packaging industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Containers & Packaging industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is just above the Containers & Packaging 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Containers & Packaging industry in last five years.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has high operating costs in the Containers & Packaging industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Containers & Packaging industry over the last five years. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Containers & Packaging industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Containers & Packaging industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Containers & Packaging sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd to increase its market reach. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Containers & Packaging industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd in the Containers & Packaging industry. Now Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Containers & Packaging industry. This can help Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd products in the Containers & Packaging industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Threats Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd are -
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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Containers & Packaging industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Containers & Packaging industry are lowering. It can presents Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Containers & Packaging sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Containers & Packaging industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Containers & Packaging sector.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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. Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry.
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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd in the Containers & Packaging sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd 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 Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.