SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Heritage-Crystal Clean (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Heritage-Crystal Clean is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Heritage-Crystal Clean
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Heritage-Crystal Clean can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Heritage-Crystal Clean, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Heritage-Crystal Clean
2. Improving business portfolio management of Heritage-Crystal Clean
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Waste Management Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Heritage-Crystal Clean
Strengths of Heritage-Crystal Clean | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Heritage-Crystal Clean are -
Ability to lead change in Waste Management Services
– Heritage-Crystal Clean is one of the leading players in the Waste Management Services industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Waste Management Services industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Heritage-Crystal Clean in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Heritage-Crystal Clean in Waste Management Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Heritage-Crystal Clean
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Heritage-Crystal Clean does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Heritage-Crystal Clean is one of the most innovative firm in Waste Management Services sector.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Heritage-Crystal Clean has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Heritage-Crystal Clean 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Heritage-Crystal Clean is one of the leading players in the Waste Management Services 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Waste Management Services industry
– Heritage-Crystal Clean is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Heritage-Crystal Clean emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Waste Management Services 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Heritage-Crystal Clean comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Waste Management Services 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.
High brand equity
– Heritage-Crystal Clean has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Heritage-Crystal Clean to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Heritage-Crystal Clean has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Heritage-Crystal Clean staying ahead in the Waste Management Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of Heritage-Crystal Clean | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Heritage-Crystal Clean are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Waste Management Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Waste Management Services industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Heritage-Crystal Clean, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Waste Management Services 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Heritage-Crystal Clean is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Waste Management Services industry, but Heritage-Crystal Clean needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Heritage-Crystal Clean to focus more on services in the Waste Management Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Waste Management Services industry using digital technology.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Heritage-Crystal Clean has some of the most successful models in the Waste Management Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Heritage-Crystal Clean should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Heritage-Crystal Clean has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Waste Management Services industry over the last five years. Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Heritage-Crystal Clean still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Waste Management Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Heritage-Crystal Clean has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Heritage-Crystal Clean 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Heritage-Crystal Clean, in the dynamic environment of Waste Management Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Heritage-Crystal Clean has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Heritage-Crystal Clean needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Heritage-Crystal Clean is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Heritage-Crystal Clean to provide better information regarding Waste Management Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Heritage-Crystal Clean Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Heritage-Crystal Clean 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, Heritage-Crystal Clean can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Heritage-Crystal Clean operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Waste Management Services sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Heritage-Crystal Clean can develop new processes and procedures in Waste Management Services 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.
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. Heritage-Crystal Clean can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Heritage-Crystal Clean 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Waste Management Services industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Heritage-Crystal Clean to increase its market reach. Heritage-Crystal Clean 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Waste Management Services industry. This can help Heritage-Crystal Clean to build a more holistic ecosystem for Heritage-Crystal Clean products in the Waste Management Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Heritage-Crystal Clean 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Heritage-Crystal Clean can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Waste Management Services 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Heritage-Crystal Clean 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Waste Management Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Heritage-Crystal Clean can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Heritage-Crystal Clean External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Heritage-Crystal Clean are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Heritage-Crystal Clean has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Waste Management Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Heritage-Crystal Clean needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Waste Management Services 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Waste Management Services industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Heritage-Crystal Clean 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. Heritage-Crystal Clean 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Heritage-Crystal Clean may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Waste Management Services sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean prominent markets.
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. Heritage-Crystal Clean needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Waste Management Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Heritage-Crystal Clean business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Waste Management Services industry and other sectors.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Waste Management Services industry are lowering. It can presents Heritage-Crystal Clean with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Waste Management Services sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Heritage-Crystal Clean in Waste Management Services industry. The Waste Management Services 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Heritage-Crystal Clean Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean 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 Heritage-Crystal Clean needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.