Rogers Sugar Inc. (RSI) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Rogers Sugar Inc. (Canada)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Rogers Sugar Inc. is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rogers Sugar Inc.

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Rogers Sugar Inc. can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rogers Sugar Inc., and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Rogers Sugar Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Rogers Sugar Inc.
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rogers Sugar Inc.
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Food Processing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Rogers Sugar Inc.

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Strengths of Rogers Sugar Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Rogers Sugar Inc. are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Rogers Sugar Inc. in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Rogers Sugar Inc. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rogers Sugar Inc. to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Innovation driven organization

– Rogers Sugar Inc. is one of the most innovative firm in Food Processing sector.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Rogers Sugar Inc. has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Rogers Sugar Inc. staying ahead in the Food Processing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Training and development

– Rogers Sugar Inc. has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-Cyclical 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Rogers Sugar Inc. has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Strong track record of project management in the Food Processing industry

– Rogers Sugar Inc. is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Diverse revenue streams

– Rogers Sugar Inc. is present in almost all the verticals within the Food Processing industry. This has provided Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Rogers Sugar Inc. is one of the leading players in the Food Processing industry in Canada. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Canada. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

High brand equity

– Rogers Sugar Inc. has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Rogers Sugar Inc. to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Organizational Resilience of Rogers Sugar Inc.

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Rogers Sugar Inc. does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Rogers Sugar Inc. in Food Processing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

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Weaknesses of Rogers Sugar Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Rogers Sugar Inc. are -

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 Rogers Sugar Inc. supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Rogers Sugar Inc. is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Rogers Sugar Inc. vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Lack of clear differentiation of Rogers Sugar Inc. products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Rogers Sugar Inc. needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Skills based hiring in Food Processing industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rogers Sugar Inc. is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Rogers Sugar Inc. to provide better information regarding Food Processing products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Employees’ less understanding of Rogers Sugar Inc. strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Food Processing industry using digital technology.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Food Processing industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Canada, Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Food Processing industry.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Rogers Sugar Inc. is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Food Processing industry, but Rogers Sugar Inc. needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Rogers Sugar Inc. to focus more on services in the Food Processing industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Need for greater diversity

– Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Rogers Sugar Inc. has some of the most successful models in the Food Processing industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Rogers Sugar Inc. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Rogers Sugar Inc. is just above the Food Processing 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.

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Rogers Sugar Inc. Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Rogers Sugar Inc. are -

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Rogers Sugar Inc. 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

– Rogers Sugar Inc. can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Food Processing 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Rogers Sugar Inc. is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Rogers Sugar Inc. can utilize new technology in the field of Food Processing industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rogers Sugar Inc. in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Food Processing industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rogers Sugar Inc. can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rogers Sugar Inc. operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Food Processing sector.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Rogers Sugar Inc. to increase its market reach. Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Food Processing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Rogers Sugar Inc. can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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. Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Food Processing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Rogers Sugar Inc. 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. Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Food Processing industry.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Rogers Sugar Inc. has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Food Processing sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Rogers Sugar Inc. to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Rogers Sugar Inc. to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Developing new processes and practices

– Rogers Sugar Inc. can develop new processes and procedures in Food Processing 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.

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Threats Rogers Sugar Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Rogers Sugar Inc. are -

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. Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Food Processing industry are lowering. It can presents Rogers Sugar Inc. with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Food Processing sector.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Food Processing 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 Rogers Sugar Inc..

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Rogers Sugar Inc. may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Food Processing 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.

Environmental challenges

– Rogers Sugar Inc. 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. Rogers Sugar Inc. can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Food Processing industry.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Rogers Sugar Inc. is facing in Food Processing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Rogers Sugar Inc. 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Food Processing industry.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Food Processing industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Rogers Sugar Inc. can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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. Rogers Sugar Inc. needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Food Processing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Increasing wage structure of Rogers Sugar Inc.

– 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 Rogers Sugar Inc..

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rogers Sugar Inc. Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Rogers Sugar Inc. 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 Rogers Sugar Inc. needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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