Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Textiles - Non Apparel sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd
Strengths of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. This has provided Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Textiles - Non Apparel industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd staying ahead in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd in the Consumer Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Consumer 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.
Ability to lead change in Textiles - Non Apparel
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is one of the leading players in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in Singapore. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in Singapore but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is one of the leading players in the Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Organizational Resilience of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
Weaknesses of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is one of the leading players in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in last five years.
High dependence on Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Textiles - Non Apparel industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry using digital technology.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry, but Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd to focus more on services in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Singapore, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is just above the Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Textiles - Non Apparel industry. This can help Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd products in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. Now Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can utilize new technology in the field of Textiles - Non Apparel industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd 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. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd 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.
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. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Textiles - Non Apparel sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
Threats Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd are -
Regulatory challenges
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry regulations.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd in Textiles - Non Apparel industry. The Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd prominent markets.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Textiles - Non Apparel 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd in the Textiles - Non Apparel sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Textiles - Non Apparel industry are lowering. It can presents Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
Environmental challenges
– Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry.
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. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Textiles - Non Apparel 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. Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings 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 Foreland Fabrictech Holdings Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.