Granite City Food OTC (GCFB) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Restaurants
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Granite City Food OTC (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Granite City Food OTC is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Granite City Food OTC
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Granite City Food OTC can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Granite City Food OTC, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Granite City Food OTC
2. Improving business portfolio management of Granite City Food OTC
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Restaurants sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Granite City Food OTC
Strengths of Granite City Food OTC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Granite City Food OTC are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Granite City Food OTC in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Granite City Food OTC has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Granite City Food OTC to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management in the Restaurants industry
– Granite City Food OTC is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Granite City Food OTC 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 Restaurants 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.
Training and development
– Granite City Food OTC 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Granite City Food OTC in Restaurants industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Restaurants
– Granite City Food OTC is one of the leading players in the Restaurants industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Restaurants industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Granite City Food OTC in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Granite City Food OTC is present in almost all the verticals within the Restaurants industry. This has provided Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Restaurants 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.
Organizational Resilience of Granite City Food OTC
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Granite City Food OTC does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Granite City Food OTC is one of the most innovative firm in Restaurants sector.
High brand equity
– Granite City Food OTC has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Granite City Food OTC to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Granite City Food OTC is one of the leading players in the Restaurants 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.
Weaknesses of Granite City Food OTC | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Granite City Food OTC are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Granite City Food OTC has high operating costs in the Restaurants industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Granite City Food OTC lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Granite City Food OTC has some of the most successful models in the Restaurants industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Granite City Food OTC should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ less understanding of Granite City Food OTC strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Granite City Food OTC 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Granite City Food OTC is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Restaurants industry, but Granite City Food OTC needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Granite City Food OTC to focus more on services in the Restaurants industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Granite City Food OTC has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Restaurants industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Restaurants industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Granite City Food OTC 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 Restaurants industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Granite City Food OTC 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Granite City Food OTC is just above the Restaurants 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 Granite City Food OTC, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Restaurants 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.
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 Granite City Food OTC supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Granite City Food OTC is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Granite City Food OTC vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Granite City Food OTC products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Granite City Food OTC needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Granite City Food OTC Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Granite City Food OTC are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Granite City Food OTC can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Granite City Food OTC operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Restaurants sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Granite City Food OTC is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Granite City Food OTC can utilize new technology in the field of Restaurants industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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 Granite City Food OTC 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Granite City Food OTC 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Granite City Food OTC can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Restaurants 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Granite City Food OTC has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Granite City Food OTC can develop new processes and procedures in Restaurants 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Granite City Food OTC has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Restaurants industry. This can help Granite City Food OTC to build a more holistic ecosystem for Granite City Food OTC products in the Restaurants industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Granite City Food OTC in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Restaurants industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Granite City Food OTC 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 Restaurants industry.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Granite City Food OTC has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Restaurants sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Granite City Food OTC to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Granite City Food OTC 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. Granite City Food OTC can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Granite City Food OTC are -
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Granite City Food OTC 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 Restaurants industry.
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. Granite City Food OTC needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Restaurants industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Restaurants industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Granite City Food OTC can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Granite City Food OTC in the Restaurants sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Granite City Food OTC 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 Restaurants industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC prominent markets.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Restaurants industry are lowering. It can presents Granite City Food OTC with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Restaurants sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Granite City Food OTC may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Restaurants sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Granite City Food OTC has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Restaurants industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Granite City Food OTC needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Restaurants 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.
Environmental challenges
– Granite City Food OTC 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. Granite City Food OTC can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Restaurants 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. Granite City Food OTC 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Granite City Food OTC Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC 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 Granite City Food OTC needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.