Armanino Foods New (AMNF) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Armanino Foods New (United States)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Armanino Foods New is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Armanino Foods New

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Armanino Foods New can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Armanino Foods New, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Armanino Foods New operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Armanino Foods New can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Armanino Foods New
2. Improving business portfolio management of Armanino Foods New
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Food Processing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Armanino Foods New

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Strengths of Armanino Foods New | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Armanino Foods New are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Armanino Foods New has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Armanino Foods New staying ahead in the Food Processing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Ability to lead change in Food Processing

– Armanino Foods New is one of the leading players in the Food Processing industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Food Processing industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Armanino Foods New in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Food Processing industry

– Armanino Foods New has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Armanino Foods New to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Food Processing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Armanino Foods New to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Learning organization

- Armanino Foods New 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 Armanino Foods New is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Armanino Foods New emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Armanino Foods New in Food Processing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Analytics focus

– Armanino Foods New 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 Food Processing 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.

High brand equity

– Armanino Foods New has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Armanino Foods New to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Strong track record of project management in the Food Processing industry

– Armanino Foods New is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Training and development

– Armanino Foods New has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-Cyclical industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Armanino Foods New has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Armanino Foods New 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Armanino Foods New comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Food Processing 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Armanino Foods New 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.

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Weaknesses of Armanino Foods New | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Armanino Foods New are -

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Food Processing industry, Armanino Foods New needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Armanino Foods New 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Armanino Foods New has some of the most successful models in the Food Processing industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Armanino Foods New should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Need for greater diversity

– Armanino Foods New 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Armanino Foods New is one of the leading players in the Food Processing industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Food Processing industry in last five years.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Armanino Foods New has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Food Processing industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Armanino Foods New, in the dynamic environment of Food Processing industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Armanino Foods New has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Armanino Foods New needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Food Processing industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Armanino Foods New can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Armanino Foods New is planning to shift buying processes online.

Lack of clear differentiation of Armanino Foods New products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Armanino Foods New needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

High dependence on Armanino Foods New ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Armanino Foods New still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Food Processing industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Armanino Foods New has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Armanino Foods New is just above the Food Processing industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.

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Armanino Foods New Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Armanino Foods New are -

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Food Processing industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Armanino Foods New in the Food Processing industry. Now Armanino Foods New can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Developing new processes and practices

– Armanino Foods New can develop new processes and procedures in Food Processing 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Armanino Foods New has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Food Processing industry. This can help Armanino Foods New to build a more holistic ecosystem for Armanino Foods New products in the Food Processing industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Food Processing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Armanino Foods New can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Armanino Foods New can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Armanino Foods New 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Armanino Foods New 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 Armanino Foods New to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Armanino Foods New to increase its market reach. Armanino Foods New 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Armanino Foods New in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Food Processing industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Armanino Foods New is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Armanino Foods New can utilize new technology in the field of Food Processing industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Armanino Foods New 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 Food Processing industry.

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. Armanino Foods New can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Armanino Foods New can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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Threats Armanino Foods New External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Armanino Foods New are -

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. Armanino Foods New needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Food Processing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Increasing wage structure of Armanino Foods New

– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Armanino Foods New.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Armanino Foods New in Food Processing industry. The Food Processing 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Food Processing industry are lowering. It can presents Armanino Foods New with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Food Processing sector.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Armanino Foods New may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Food Processing 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 Armanino Foods New in the Food Processing 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 Armanino Foods New.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Armanino Foods New 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 Food Processing industry.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Armanino Foods New is facing in Food Processing 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. Armanino Foods New 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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Food Processing industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Armanino Foods New can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Armanino Foods New 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 Armanino Foods New prominent markets.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Armanino Foods New 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 Food Processing industry and other sectors.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Armanino Foods New Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Armanino Foods New 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 Armanino Foods New 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 Armanino Foods New 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 Armanino Foods New 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 Armanino Foods New needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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