SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for FII CAIXA CEDAE (Brazil)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , FII CAIXA CEDAE is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that FII CAIXA CEDAE can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the FII CAIXA CEDAE, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of FII CAIXA CEDAE
2. Improving business portfolio management of FII CAIXA CEDAE
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Brazil
4. Making a NA sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of FII CAIXA CEDAE
Strengths of FII CAIXA CEDAE | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of FII CAIXA CEDAE are -
Analytics focus
– FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 NA industry. The technology infrastructure of Brazil 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
– FII CAIXA CEDAE has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled FII CAIXA CEDAE to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of FII CAIXA CEDAE
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing FII CAIXA CEDAE does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– FII CAIXA CEDAE is present in almost all the verticals within the NA industry. This has provided FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 NA industry
– FII CAIXA CEDAE has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled FII CAIXA CEDAE to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the NA industry. The sustainable margins have also helped FII CAIXA CEDAE to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– FII CAIXA CEDAE is one of the leading players in the NA industry in Brazil. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Brazil. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of FII CAIXA CEDAE in the NA sector have low bargaining power. FII CAIXA CEDAE has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps FII CAIXA CEDAE to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in NA
– FII CAIXA CEDAE is one of the leading players in the NA industry in Brazil. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the NA industry in Brazil but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled FII CAIXA CEDAE in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– FII CAIXA CEDAE has one of the best training and development program in NA 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of FII CAIXA CEDAE comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the NA 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.
Digital Transformation in NA industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For FII CAIXA CEDAE digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. FII CAIXA CEDAE 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– FII CAIXA CEDAE has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive NA industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of FII CAIXA CEDAE have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of FII CAIXA CEDAE | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FII CAIXA CEDAE are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brazil, FII CAIXA CEDAE needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring in NA industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at FII CAIXA CEDAE has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Employees’ less understanding of FII CAIXA CEDAE strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of FII CAIXA CEDAE 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though FII CAIXA CEDAE has some of the most successful models in the NA industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. FII CAIXA CEDAE should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, FII CAIXA CEDAE 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.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of FII CAIXA CEDAE supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, FII CAIXA CEDAE is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left FII CAIXA CEDAE vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at FII CAIXA CEDAE, in the dynamic environment of NA industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. FII CAIXA CEDAE has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on FII CAIXA CEDAE ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of FII CAIXA CEDAE still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in NA industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though FII CAIXA CEDAE has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
FII CAIXA CEDAE has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the NA industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As FII CAIXA CEDAE is one of the leading players in the NA industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the NA industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that FII CAIXA CEDAE needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the NA industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at FII CAIXA CEDAE can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as FII CAIXA CEDAE is planning to shift buying processes online.
FII CAIXA CEDAE Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of FII CAIXA CEDAE are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in NA industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for FII CAIXA CEDAE in the NA industry. Now FII CAIXA CEDAE can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects FII CAIXA CEDAE can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in NA industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. FII CAIXA CEDAE can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for FII CAIXA CEDAE 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for FII CAIXA CEDAE in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the NA industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. FII CAIXA CEDAE can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the NA industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. FII CAIXA CEDAE 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. FII CAIXA CEDAE 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, FII CAIXA CEDAE can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that FII CAIXA CEDAE operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in NA sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE 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
– FII CAIXA CEDAE can develop new processes and procedures in NA 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.
Manufacturing automation
– FII CAIXA CEDAE can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in NA 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, FII CAIXA CEDAE is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. FII CAIXA CEDAE can utilize new technology in the field of NA industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats FII CAIXA CEDAE External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of FII CAIXA CEDAE are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 NA industry.
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.
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. FII CAIXA CEDAE 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 NA industry and other sectors.
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. FII CAIXA CEDAE needs to understand the core reasons impacting the NA industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 FII CAIXA CEDAE business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 FII CAIXA CEDAE.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for FII CAIXA CEDAE in NA industry. The NA 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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of FII CAIXA CEDAE
– 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– FII CAIXA CEDAE 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE prominent markets.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to NA industry are lowering. It can presents FII CAIXA CEDAE with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the NA sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FII CAIXA CEDAE Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE 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 FII CAIXA CEDAE needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.