Postmedia Network Canada A (PNCa) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Postmedia Network Canada A (Canada)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Postmedia Network Canada A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Postmedia Network Canada A

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Postmedia Network Canada A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Postmedia Network Canada A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Postmedia Network Canada A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Postmedia Network Canada A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Postmedia Network Canada A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Printing & Publishing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Postmedia Network Canada A

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Strengths of Postmedia Network Canada A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Postmedia Network Canada A are -

Ability to lead change in Printing & Publishing

– Postmedia Network Canada A is one of the leading players in the Printing & Publishing industry in Canada. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Printing & Publishing industry in Canada but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Postmedia Network Canada A in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Digital Transformation in Printing & Publishing industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Postmedia Network Canada A digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Postmedia Network Canada A has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Postmedia Network Canada A has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

Analytics focus

– Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Printing & Publishing industry. The technology infrastructure of Canada 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Postmedia Network Canada A has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Postmedia Network Canada A staying ahead in the Printing & Publishing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Postmedia Network Canada A is one of the leading players in the Printing & Publishing 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 Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Postmedia Network Canada A in Printing & Publishing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

High brand equity

– Postmedia Network Canada A has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Postmedia Network Canada A to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Innovation driven organization

– Postmedia Network Canada A is one of the most innovative firm in Printing & Publishing sector.

Strong track record of project management in the Printing & Publishing industry

– Postmedia Network Canada A is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Postmedia Network Canada A in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Postmedia Network Canada A has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Postmedia Network Canada A to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

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Weaknesses of Postmedia Network Canada A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Postmedia Network Canada A are -

Skills based hiring in Printing & Publishing industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Postmedia Network Canada A, in the dynamic environment of Printing & Publishing industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Postmedia Network Canada A has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Printing & Publishing industry using digital technology.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Postmedia Network Canada A products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Postmedia Network Canada A needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

High dependence on Postmedia Network Canada A ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Postmedia Network Canada A still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Printing & Publishing industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Postmedia Network Canada A has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Postmedia Network Canada A is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Postmedia Network Canada A to provide better information regarding Printing & Publishing products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Postmedia Network Canada A is just above the Printing & Publishing 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Postmedia Network Canada A has some of the most successful models in the Printing & Publishing industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Postmedia Network Canada A should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Canada, Postmedia Network Canada A needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

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Postmedia Network Canada A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Postmedia Network Canada A are -

Buying journey improvements

– Postmedia Network Canada A can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Printing & Publishing 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Printing & Publishing industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Postmedia Network Canada A in the Printing & Publishing industry. Now Postmedia Network Canada A can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Manufacturing automation

– Postmedia Network Canada A can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Printing & Publishing 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Printing & Publishing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Postmedia Network Canada A 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. Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

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 Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Postmedia Network Canada A to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

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

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Postmedia Network Canada A in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Printing & Publishing industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Postmedia Network Canada A is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Postmedia Network Canada A can utilize new technology in the field of Printing & Publishing industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Printing & Publishing industry.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Postmedia Network Canada A to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

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Threats Postmedia Network Canada A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Postmedia Network Canada A are -

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Postmedia Network Canada A has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Printing & Publishing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Postmedia Network Canada A needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Printing & Publishing 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

– Postmedia Network Canada A 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. Postmedia Network Canada A can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Printing & Publishing industry.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Printing & Publishing industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Postmedia Network Canada A in Printing & Publishing industry. The Printing & Publishing 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Printing & Publishing industry and other sectors.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Printing & Publishing industry are lowering. It can presents Postmedia Network Canada A with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Printing & Publishing sector.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Postmedia Network Canada A is facing in Printing & Publishing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Postmedia Network Canada A business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Printing & Publishing industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Postmedia Network Canada A can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Postmedia Network Canada A prominent markets.

Regulatory challenges

– Postmedia Network Canada A 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 Printing & Publishing industry regulations.

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 Postmedia Network Canada A in the Printing & Publishing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Postmedia Network Canada A 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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Postmedia Network Canada A Template, Example

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

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