Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Acadian Timber Corp 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 transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Acadian Timber Corp
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Acadian Timber Corp can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Acadian Timber Corp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Acadian Timber Corp 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 Acadian Timber Corp can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Acadian Timber Corp
2. Improving business portfolio management of Acadian Timber Corp
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Forestry & Wood Products sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Acadian Timber Corp
Strengths of Acadian Timber Corp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Acadian Timber Corp are -
Digital Transformation in Forestry & Wood Products industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Acadian Timber Corp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Acadian Timber Corp in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Acadian Timber Corp has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Acadian Timber Corp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Acadian Timber Corp has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Forestry & Wood Products industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Acadian Timber Corp have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Forestry & Wood Products industry
– Acadian Timber Corp has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Acadian Timber Corp to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Forestry & Wood Products industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Acadian Timber Corp to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Acadian Timber Corp has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Analytics focus
– Acadian Timber Corp 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 Forestry & Wood Products industry. The technology infrastructure of United States 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Acadian Timber Corp is one of the leading players in the Forestry & Wood Products industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Acadian Timber Corp
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Acadian Timber Corp does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Acadian Timber Corp 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 Acadian Timber Corp is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Acadian Timber Corp emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Weaknesses of Acadian Timber Corp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Acadian Timber Corp are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Forestry & Wood Products industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Acadian Timber Corp 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 Forestry & Wood Products industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Acadian Timber Corp, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Forestry & Wood Products industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Acadian Timber Corp is just above the Forestry & Wood Products 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Acadian Timber Corp has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Forestry & Wood Products industry over the last five years. Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Acadian Timber Corp needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Acadian Timber Corp needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Forestry & Wood Products industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Acadian Timber Corp can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Acadian Timber Corp is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Acadian Timber Corp has high operating costs in the Forestry & Wood Products industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Acadian Timber Corp lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Acadian Timber Corp is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Forestry & Wood Products industry, but Acadian Timber Corp needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Acadian Timber Corp to focus more on services in the Forestry & Wood Products industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Forestry & Wood Products industry, Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Acadian Timber Corp Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Acadian Timber Corp are -
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. Acadian Timber Corp can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Acadian Timber Corp can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Forestry & Wood Products sector. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Acadian Timber Corp 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 Acadian Timber Corp to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Acadian Timber Corp can develop new processes and procedures in Forestry & Wood Products industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Acadian Timber Corp has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Acadian Timber Corp 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 Acadian Timber Corp to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Forestry & Wood Products industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Acadian Timber Corp 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. Acadian Timber Corp 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.
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 Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Acadian Timber Corp has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Forestry & Wood Products industry. This can help Acadian Timber Corp to build a more holistic ecosystem for Acadian Timber Corp products in the Forestry & Wood Products industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Acadian Timber Corp can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Acadian Timber Corp operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Forestry & Wood Products sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Acadian Timber Corp has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Forestry & Wood Products sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Acadian Timber Corp to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Acadian Timber Corp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Acadian Timber Corp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Forestry & Wood Products industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Acadian Timber Corp in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Forestry & Wood Products industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Acadian Timber Corp External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Acadian Timber Corp are -
Regulatory challenges
– Acadian Timber Corp 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 Forestry & Wood Products industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Acadian Timber Corp 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 Forestry & Wood Products industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Forestry & Wood Products industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Acadian Timber Corp can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Acadian Timber Corp may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Forestry & Wood Products sector.
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 Acadian Timber Corp in the Forestry & Wood Products sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Acadian Timber Corp 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 Forestry & Wood Products industry and other sectors.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Acadian Timber Corp 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Acadian Timber Corp in Forestry & Wood Products industry. The Forestry & Wood Products industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Acadian Timber Corp is facing in Forestry & Wood Products sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Acadian Timber Corp will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Forestry & Wood Products industry are lowering. It can presents Acadian Timber Corp with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Forestry & Wood Products sector.
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 Acadian Timber Corp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Acadian Timber Corp has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Forestry & Wood Products industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Acadian Timber Corp needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Forestry & Wood Products sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Acadian Timber Corp Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Acadian Timber Corp 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 Acadian Timber Corp 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 Acadian Timber Corp 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 Acadian Timber Corp 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 Acadian Timber Corp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
