Buhler Industries Inc. (BUI) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Constr. & Agric. Machinery
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Buhler Industries Inc. (Canada)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Buhler Industries Inc. is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Buhler Industries Inc.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Buhler Industries Inc. can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Buhler Industries Inc., and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Buhler Industries 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.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Buhler Industries Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Buhler Industries Inc.
2. Improving business portfolio management of Buhler Industries Inc.
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Buhler Industries Inc.
Strengths of Buhler Industries Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Buhler Industries Inc. are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Buhler Industries Inc. is one of the leading players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Buhler Industries Inc. has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Buhler Industries Inc. have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Constr. & Agric. Machinery
– Buhler Industries Inc. is one of the leading players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry in Canada. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry in Canada but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Buhler Industries Inc. in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Buhler Industries Inc. comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Buhler Industries Inc. has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Buhler Industries Inc. staying ahead in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– Buhler Industries Inc. has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Buhler Industries Inc. to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Buhler Industries Inc. to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Buhler Industries Inc. digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Buhler Industries Inc. 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.
Learning organization
- Buhler Industries Inc. 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 Buhler Industries Inc. is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Buhler Industries Inc. emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– Buhler Industries 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Buhler Industries Inc. has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Buhler Industries 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.
Training and development
– Buhler Industries Inc. has one of the best training and development program in Capital Goods 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Buhler Industries Inc. is one of the most innovative firm in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Weaknesses of Buhler Industries Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Buhler Industries Inc. are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Buhler Industries Inc. is just above the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Buhler Industries Inc. 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Buhler Industries Inc. has high operating costs in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Buhler Industries Inc. lucrative customers.
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 Buhler Industries Inc. supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Buhler Industries Inc. is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Buhler Industries Inc. vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Buhler Industries Inc. is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Buhler Industries Inc. to provide better information regarding Constr. & Agric. Machinery products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Buhler Industries 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Buhler Industries Inc. has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry over the last five years. Buhler Industries Inc. 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Buhler Industries Inc. is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, but Buhler Industries Inc. needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Buhler Industries Inc. to focus more on services in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Buhler Industries 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Buhler Industries Inc. products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Buhler Industries Inc. needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Buhler Industries Inc. needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Buhler Industries Inc. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Buhler Industries Inc. is planning to shift buying processes online.
Buhler Industries Inc. Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Buhler Industries Inc. are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Buhler Industries 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Buhler Industries Inc. can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Buhler Industries 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Buhler Industries Inc. can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Buhler Industries 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. Buhler Industries 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Buhler Industries Inc. has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Buhler Industries Inc. to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Buhler Industries Inc. to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Buhler Industries Inc. can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Buhler Industries Inc. operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Buhler Industries Inc. has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This can help Buhler Industries Inc. to build a more holistic ecosystem for Buhler Industries Inc. products in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Buhler Industries Inc. 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Buhler Industries Inc. in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. Now Buhler Industries Inc. can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Buhler Industries Inc. 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Buhler Industries Inc. can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Buhler Industries Inc. can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Buhler Industries Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Buhler Industries Inc. are -
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.
Increasing wage structure of Buhler Industries 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 Buhler Industries Inc..
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Buhler Industries Inc. is facing in Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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 Buhler Industries Inc. business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Buhler Industries Inc. can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Buhler Industries Inc..
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Buhler Industries 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Buhler Industries Inc. in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. The Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
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 Buhler Industries Inc. in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Buhler Industries 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Buhler Industries 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry are lowering. It can presents Buhler Industries Inc. with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Buhler Industries Inc. Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Buhler Industries 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 Buhler Industries 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 Buhler Industries 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 Buhler Industries 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 Buhler Industries Inc. needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.