Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Foodfest Intl 2000 is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Foodfest Intl 2000
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Foodfest Intl 2000 can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Foodfest Intl 2000, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Foodfest Intl 2000
2. Improving business portfolio management of Foodfest Intl 2000
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Retail (Grocery) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Foodfest Intl 2000
Strengths of Foodfest Intl 2000 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Foodfest Intl 2000 are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Foodfest Intl 2000 is present in almost all the verticals within the Retail (Grocery) industry. This has provided Foodfest Intl 2000 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.
Learning organization
- Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Foodfest Intl 2000 emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Foodfest Intl 2000 has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Retail (Grocery) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Foodfest Intl 2000 have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Foodfest Intl 2000 is one of the most innovative firm in Retail (Grocery) sector.
Training and development
– Foodfest Intl 2000 has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
High brand equity
– Foodfest Intl 2000 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Foodfest Intl 2000 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Foodfest Intl 2000 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Retail (Grocery) industry
– Foodfest Intl 2000 has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Foodfest Intl 2000 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Retail (Grocery) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Foodfest Intl 2000 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Foodfest Intl 2000 in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Foodfest Intl 2000 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Foodfest Intl 2000 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Foodfest Intl 2000
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Foodfest Intl 2000 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Foodfest Intl 2000 has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Foodfest Intl 2000 staying ahead in the Retail (Grocery) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of Foodfest Intl 2000 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Foodfest Intl 2000 are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Foodfest Intl 2000 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Foodfest Intl 2000 has high operating costs in the Retail (Grocery) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Foodfest Intl 2000 lucrative customers.
High dependence on Foodfest Intl 2000 ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Foodfest Intl 2000 still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Retail (Grocery) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Foodfest Intl 2000 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Foodfest Intl 2000 is one of the leading players in the Retail (Grocery) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Retail (Grocery) industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Foodfest Intl 2000 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Retail (Grocery) industry, but Foodfest Intl 2000 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Foodfest Intl 2000 to focus more on services in the Retail (Grocery) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Foodfest Intl 2000, in the dynamic environment of Retail (Grocery) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Foodfest Intl 2000 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Foodfest Intl 2000 is just above the Retail (Grocery) 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Foodfest Intl 2000, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Retail (Grocery) 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Foodfest Intl 2000 strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Foodfest Intl 2000 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Foodfest Intl 2000 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Foodfest Intl 2000 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Foodfest Intl 2000 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Foodfest Intl 2000 Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Foodfest Intl 2000 are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Retail (Grocery) industry.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Foodfest Intl 2000 can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Retail (Grocery) 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Foodfest Intl 2000 can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Foodfest Intl 2000 has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Retail (Grocery) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Foodfest Intl 2000 to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Foodfest Intl 2000 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Foodfest Intl 2000 in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Retail (Grocery) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Foodfest Intl 2000 can develop new processes and procedures in Retail (Grocery) 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.
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 Foodfest Intl 2000 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Foodfest Intl 2000 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Foodfest Intl 2000 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Retail (Grocery) industry. This can help Foodfest Intl 2000 to build a more holistic ecosystem for Foodfest Intl 2000 products in the Retail (Grocery) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Foodfest Intl 2000 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Foodfest Intl 2000 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Foodfest Intl 2000 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Retail (Grocery) sector.
Threats Foodfest Intl 2000 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Foodfest Intl 2000 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. Foodfest Intl 2000 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Retail (Grocery) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Foodfest Intl 2000 in the Retail (Grocery) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Retail (Grocery) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Foodfest Intl 2000 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Foodfest Intl 2000 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. Foodfest Intl 2000 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Retail (Grocery) industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 in Retail (Grocery) industry. The Retail (Grocery) 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Foodfest Intl 2000 may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Retail (Grocery) sector.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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.
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 Foodfest Intl 2000 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Foodfest Intl 2000 is facing in Retail (Grocery) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 prominent markets.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Retail (Grocery) industry are lowering. It can presents Foodfest Intl 2000 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Retail (Grocery) sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Foodfest Intl 2000 Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 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 Foodfest Intl 2000 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.