Global Future City (FTCY) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Beverages (Nonalcoholic)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Global Future City (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Global Future City is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Global Future City
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Global Future City can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Global Future City, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Global Future City 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 Global Future City can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Global Future City
2. Improving business portfolio management of Global Future City
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Global Future City
Strengths of Global Future City | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Global Future City are -
Organizational Resilience of Global Future City
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Global Future City does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Global Future City in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Global Future City has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Global Future City to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Global Future City is present in almost all the verticals within the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. This has provided Global Future City 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Global Future City comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry
– Global Future City is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry
– Global Future City has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Global Future City to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Global Future City to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Global Future City 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Global Future City in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Global Future City is one of the leading players in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Global Future City is one of the most innovative firm in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector.
Analytics focus
– Global Future City 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 Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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
– Global Future City has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Global Future City to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses of Global Future City | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Global Future City are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Global Future City 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry, Global Future City 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Global Future City, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Global Future City products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Global Future City needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Global Future City 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 Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Global Future City has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry over the last five years. Global Future City 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.
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 Global Future City supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Global Future City is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Global Future City vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Global Future City is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Global Future City to provide better information regarding Beverages (Nonalcoholic) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Global Future City 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Global Future City 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 Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry using digital technology.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Global Future City needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Global Future City Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Global Future City are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Global Future City 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Global Future City can develop new processes and procedures in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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 Global Future City 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Global Future City can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Global Future City operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Global Future City 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. Global Future City 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Global Future City has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. This can help Global Future City to build a more holistic ecosystem for Global Future City products in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Global Future City has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Global Future City to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Global Future City to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Global Future City 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 Global Future City can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Global Future City can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Global Future City 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Global Future City to increase its market reach. Global Future City 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Global Future City 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 Global Future City to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Global Future City External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Global Future City 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. Global Future City needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Global Future City 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 Global Future City prominent markets.
Regulatory challenges
– Global Future City 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 Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry regulations.
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 Global Future City in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Global Future City may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Beverages (Nonalcoholic) 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 Global Future City business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Global Future City can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Global Future City.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Global Future City 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.
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.
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. Global Future City 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.
Environmental challenges
– Global Future City 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. Global Future City can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Beverages (Nonalcoholic) industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Global Future City is facing in Beverages (Nonalcoholic) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Global Future City Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Global Future City 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 Global Future City 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 Global Future City 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 Global Future City 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 Global Future City needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.