Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , FamilyMart UNY ADR is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of FamilyMart UNY ADR
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that FamilyMart UNY ADR can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the FamilyMart UNY ADR, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of FamilyMart UNY ADR
2. Improving business portfolio management of FamilyMart UNY ADR
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of FamilyMart UNY ADR
Strengths of FamilyMart UNY ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of FamilyMart UNY ADR are -
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For FamilyMart UNY ADR digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in industry
– FamilyMart UNY ADR has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled FamilyMart UNY ADR to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the industry. The sustainable margins have also helped FamilyMart UNY ADR to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of FamilyMart UNY ADR
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing FamilyMart UNY ADR does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– FamilyMart UNY ADR is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Analytics focus
– FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– FamilyMart UNY ADR has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – FamilyMart UNY ADR staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– FamilyMart UNY ADR has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled FamilyMart UNY ADR to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at FamilyMart UNY ADR emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in
– FamilyMart UNY ADR is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled FamilyMart UNY ADR in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– FamilyMart UNY ADR has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– FamilyMart UNY ADR is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Weaknesses of FamilyMart UNY ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FamilyMart UNY ADR are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though FamilyMart UNY ADR has some of the most successful models in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. FamilyMart UNY ADR should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of FamilyMart UNY ADR is just above the 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of FamilyMart UNY ADR is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but FamilyMart UNY ADR needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help FamilyMart UNY ADR to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that FamilyMart UNY ADR needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at FamilyMart UNY ADR can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as FamilyMart UNY ADR is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners in industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, FamilyMart UNY ADR has high operating costs in the industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract FamilyMart UNY ADR lucrative customers.
High dependence on FamilyMart UNY ADR ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of FamilyMart UNY ADR still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though FamilyMart UNY ADR has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Skills based hiring in industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As FamilyMart UNY ADR is one of the leading players in the industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
FamilyMart UNY ADR Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of FamilyMart UNY ADR are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. FamilyMart UNY ADR can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– FamilyMart UNY ADR can develop new processes and procedures in 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– FamilyMart UNY ADR has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled FamilyMart UNY ADR to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help FamilyMart UNY ADR to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help FamilyMart UNY ADR to build a more holistic ecosystem for FamilyMart UNY ADR products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Buying journey improvements
– FamilyMart UNY ADR can improve the customer journey of consumers in the 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, FamilyMart UNY ADR can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that FamilyMart UNY ADR operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
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. FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. FamilyMart UNY ADR 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. FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Threats FamilyMart UNY ADR External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of FamilyMart UNY ADR are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for FamilyMart UNY ADR in industry. The 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.
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. FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 industry and other sectors.
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 FamilyMart UNY ADR.
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.
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 FamilyMart UNY ADR in the 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, FamilyMart UNY ADR may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of sector.
Environmental challenges
– FamilyMart UNY ADR 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. FamilyMart UNY ADR can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– FamilyMart UNY ADR 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.
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. FamilyMart UNY ADR needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents FamilyMart UNY ADR with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FamilyMart UNY ADR Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR 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 FamilyMart UNY ADR needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
