SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Galaxy Resources (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Galaxy Resources is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Galaxy Resources can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Galaxy Resources, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Galaxy Resources
2. Improving business portfolio management of Galaxy Resources
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Non-Metallic Mining sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Galaxy Resources
Strengths of Galaxy Resources | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Galaxy Resources are -
High brand equity
– Galaxy Resources has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Galaxy Resources to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Galaxy Resources has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Galaxy Resources staying ahead in the Non-Metallic Mining industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Galaxy Resources 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Galaxy Resources is one of the leading players in the Non-Metallic Mining 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
– Galaxy Resources is one of the most innovative firm in Non-Metallic Mining sector.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Galaxy Resources 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Galaxy Resources comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Non-Metallic Mining 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.
Analytics focus
– Galaxy Resources 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 Non-Metallic Mining 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Non-Metallic Mining industry
– Galaxy Resources has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Galaxy Resources to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Non-Metallic Mining industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Galaxy Resources to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Galaxy Resources
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Galaxy Resources does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Galaxy Resources is present in almost all the verticals within the Non-Metallic Mining industry. This has provided Galaxy Resources 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
- Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Galaxy Resources emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses of Galaxy Resources | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Galaxy Resources are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Galaxy Resources, in the dynamic environment of Non-Metallic Mining industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Non-Metallic Mining industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Galaxy Resources can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Galaxy Resources is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring in Non-Metallic Mining industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources is one of the leading players in the Non-Metallic Mining industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Non-Metallic Mining industry in last five years.
High dependence on Galaxy Resources ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Galaxy Resources still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Non-Metallic Mining industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Galaxy Resources has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Galaxy Resources supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Galaxy Resources is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Galaxy Resources vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Galaxy Resources needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Galaxy Resources is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Non-Metallic Mining industry, but Galaxy Resources needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Galaxy Resources to focus more on services in the Non-Metallic Mining industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Galaxy Resources is just above the Non-Metallic Mining 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Galaxy Resources has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Non-Metallic Mining industry over the last five years. Galaxy Resources 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Non-Metallic Mining industry, Galaxy Resources 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.
Galaxy Resources Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Galaxy Resources are -
Buying journey improvements
– Galaxy Resources can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Non-Metallic Mining 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Galaxy Resources has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Non-Metallic Mining industry. This can help Galaxy Resources to build a more holistic ecosystem for Galaxy Resources products in the Non-Metallic Mining industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Galaxy Resources 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Galaxy Resources can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Non-Metallic Mining 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Galaxy Resources in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Non-Metallic Mining 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. Galaxy Resources can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Galaxy Resources 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 Non-Metallic Mining industry.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Non-Metallic Mining industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Galaxy Resources 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. Galaxy Resources 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Galaxy Resources 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Galaxy Resources can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Galaxy Resources operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Non-Metallic Mining sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Galaxy Resources is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Galaxy Resources can utilize new technology in the field of Non-Metallic Mining industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Non-Metallic Mining industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Galaxy Resources in the Non-Metallic Mining industry. Now Galaxy Resources can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Galaxy Resources External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Galaxy Resources are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Galaxy Resources is facing in Non-Metallic Mining sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Galaxy Resources in Non-Metallic Mining industry. The Non-Metallic Mining 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Galaxy Resources has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Non-Metallic Mining industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Galaxy Resources needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Non-Metallic Mining sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Galaxy Resources may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Non-Metallic Mining sector.
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 Galaxy Resources.
Regulatory challenges
– Galaxy Resources 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 Non-Metallic Mining industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Galaxy Resources 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 Non-Metallic Mining industry.
Environmental challenges
– Galaxy Resources 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. Galaxy Resources can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Non-Metallic Mining industry.
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 Galaxy Resources in the Non-Metallic Mining sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Galaxy Resources
– 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 Galaxy Resources.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Galaxy Resources 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, Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Galaxy Resources Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources 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 Galaxy Resources needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.