John B Sanfilippo&Son (JBSS) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Food Processing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for John B Sanfilippo&Son (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , John B Sanfilippo&Son is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of John B Sanfilippo&Son
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that John B Sanfilippo&Son can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the John B Sanfilippo&Son, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 John B Sanfilippo&Son can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of John B Sanfilippo&Son
2. Improving business portfolio management of John B Sanfilippo&Son
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Food Processing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of John B Sanfilippo&Son
Strengths of John B Sanfilippo&Son | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of John B Sanfilippo&Son are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Ability to lead change in Food Processing
– John B Sanfilippo&Son is one of the leading players in the Food Processing industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Food Processing industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled John B Sanfilippo&Son in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of John B Sanfilippo&Son
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing John B Sanfilippo&Son does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– John B Sanfilippo&Son has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. John B Sanfilippo&Son 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
– John B Sanfilippo&Son is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– John B Sanfilippo&Son is one of the most innovative firm in Food Processing sector.
High brand equity
– John B Sanfilippo&Son has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled John B Sanfilippo&Son to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– John B Sanfilippo&Son has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Food Processing industry
– John B Sanfilippo&Son has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled John B Sanfilippo&Son to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Food Processing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped John B Sanfilippo&Son to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 Food Processing 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of John B Sanfilippo&Son in Food Processing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of John B Sanfilippo&Son comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Food Processing 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.
Weaknesses of John B Sanfilippo&Son | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of John B Sanfilippo&Son are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that John B Sanfilippo&Son needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Food Processing industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at John B Sanfilippo&Son can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as John B Sanfilippo&Son is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, John B Sanfilippo&Son has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Food Processing industry over the last five years. John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 Food Processing industry, John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of John B Sanfilippo&Son products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, John B Sanfilippo&Son needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, John B Sanfilippo&Son has high operating costs in the Food Processing industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract John B Sanfilippo&Son lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, John B Sanfilippo&Son is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help John B Sanfilippo&Son to provide better information regarding Food Processing products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of John B Sanfilippo&Son is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Food Processing industry, but John B Sanfilippo&Son needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help John B Sanfilippo&Son to focus more on services in the Food Processing industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring in Food Processing industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
John B Sanfilippo&Son has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Food Processing industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As John B Sanfilippo&Son is one of the leading players in the Food Processing industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Food Processing industry in last five years.
John B Sanfilippo&Son Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of John B Sanfilippo&Son are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects John B Sanfilippo&Son can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. John B Sanfilippo&Son can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, John B Sanfilippo&Son is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of John B Sanfilippo&Son has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Food Processing industry. This can help John B Sanfilippo&Son to build a more holistic ecosystem for John B Sanfilippo&Son products in the Food Processing industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Buying journey improvements
– John B Sanfilippo&Son can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Food Processing 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
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. John B Sanfilippo&Son 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, John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 John B Sanfilippo&Son to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 John B Sanfilippo&Son 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
– John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Threats John B Sanfilippo&Son External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of John B Sanfilippo&Son are -
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 John B Sanfilippo&Son in the Food Processing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for John B Sanfilippo&Son in Food Processing industry. The Food Processing 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.
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. John B Sanfilippo&Son needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Food Processing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, John B Sanfilippo&Son 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Food Processing industry are lowering. It can presents John B Sanfilippo&Son with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Food Processing sector.
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 John B Sanfilippo&Son business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of John B Sanfilippo&Son
– 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 John B Sanfilippo&Son.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 John B Sanfilippo&Son prominent markets.
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 John B Sanfilippo&Son.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of John B Sanfilippo&Son Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 John B Sanfilippo&Son 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 John B Sanfilippo&Son needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.