SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Canarc Resource Corp. (Canada)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Canarc Resource Corp. is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Canarc Resource Corp.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Canarc Resource Corp. can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Canarc Resource Corp., and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Canarc Resource Corp. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Canarc Resource Corp.
2. Improving business portfolio management of Canarc Resource Corp.
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Gold & Silver sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Canarc Resource Corp.
Strengths of Canarc Resource Corp. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Canarc Resource Corp. are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Gold & Silver industry
– Canarc Resource Corp. has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Canarc Resource Corp. to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Gold & Silver industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Canarc Resource Corp. to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Canarc Resource Corp. is present in almost all the verticals within the Gold & Silver industry. This has provided Canarc Resource Corp. a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Innovation driven organization
– Canarc Resource Corp. is one of the most innovative firm in Gold & Silver sector.
High brand equity
– Canarc Resource Corp. has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Canarc Resource Corp. to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management in the Gold & Silver industry
– Canarc Resource Corp. is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Gold & Silver 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
Digital Transformation in Gold & Silver industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Canarc Resource Corp. digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Canarc Resource Corp. 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
– Canarc Resource Corp. has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Canarc Resource Corp. has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Gold & Silver industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Canarc Resource Corp. have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Canarc Resource Corp. is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Canarc Resource Corp. emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses of Canarc Resource Corp. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Canarc Resource Corp. are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Canarc Resource Corp. needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Gold & Silver industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Canarc Resource Corp. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Canarc Resource Corp. is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Canarc Resource Corp. is just above the Gold & Silver 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Gold & Silver industry using digital technology.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Canarc Resource Corp. has some of the most successful models in the Gold & Silver industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Canarc Resource Corp. 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, Canarc Resource Corp. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Canarc Resource Corp. has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Gold & Silver 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 Canarc Resource Corp. is one of the leading players in the Gold & Silver industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Gold & Silver industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Canarc Resource Corp. is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Gold & Silver industry, but Canarc Resource Corp. needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Canarc Resource Corp. to focus more on services in the Gold & Silver industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Canarc Resource Corp. supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Canarc Resource Corp. is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Canarc Resource Corp. vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on Canarc Resource Corp. ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Canarc Resource Corp. still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Gold & Silver industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Canarc Resource Corp. has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring in Gold & Silver industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
Canarc Resource Corp. Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Canarc Resource Corp. are -
Loyalty marketing
– Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Gold & Silver industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Canarc Resource Corp. in the Gold & Silver industry. Now Canarc Resource Corp. can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Canarc Resource Corp. has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Gold & Silver sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Canarc Resource Corp. to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Canarc Resource Corp. to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Gold & Silver industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Canarc Resource Corp. can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Canarc Resource Corp. can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Canarc Resource Corp. can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Gold & Silver industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Canarc Resource Corp. 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. Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Canarc Resource Corp. has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Gold & Silver industry. This can help Canarc Resource Corp. to build a more holistic ecosystem for Canarc Resource Corp. products in the Gold & Silver industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Gold & Silver industry.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Canarc Resource Corp. in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Gold & Silver industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Canarc Resource Corp. can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Gold & Silver 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.
Threats Canarc Resource Corp. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Canarc Resource Corp. in the Gold & Silver sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Canarc Resource Corp. has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Gold & Silver industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Canarc Resource Corp. needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Gold & Silver 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Canarc Resource Corp. is facing in Gold & Silver sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Canarc Resource Corp. 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.
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
– Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Gold & Silver industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Canarc Resource Corp. 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. Canarc Resource Corp. can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Gold & Silver industry.
Increasing wage structure of Canarc Resource Corp.
– 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 Canarc Resource Corp..
Consumer confidence and its impact on Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Gold & Silver industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Gold & Silver industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Canarc Resource Corp. may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Gold & Silver sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Gold & Silver industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Canarc Resource Corp. can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Canarc Resource Corp. business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Canarc Resource Corp. Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Canarc Resource Corp. 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 Canarc Resource Corp. needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
