Thorn Group (TGA) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Thorn Group (Australia)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Thorn Group is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Thorn Group

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

---

Strengths of Thorn Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Thorn Group are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

Successful track record of launching new products

– Thorn Group has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Thorn Group 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

– Thorn Group 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 Retail (Technology) industry. The technology infrastructure of Australia 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 Thorn Group 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.

Strong track record of project management in the Retail (Technology) industry

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

Diverse revenue streams

– Thorn Group is present in almost all the verticals within the Retail (Technology) industry. This has provided Thorn Group 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Thorn Group has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Retail (Technology) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Thorn Group have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Thorn Group 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 Retail (Technology)

– Thorn Group is one of the leading players in the Retail (Technology) industry in Australia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Retail (Technology) industry in Australia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Thorn Group in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Innovation driven organization

– Thorn Group is one of the most innovative firm in Retail (Technology) sector.

Learning organization

- Thorn Group 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 Thorn Group is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Thorn Group emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Thorn Group has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Thorn Group staying ahead in the Retail (Technology) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

---

---

Weaknesses of Thorn Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Thorn Group are -

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Thorn Group, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Retail (Technology) industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Thorn Group has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Retail (Technology) 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 Thorn Group is one of the leading players in the Retail (Technology) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Retail (Technology) industry in last five years.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Thorn Group has high operating costs in the Retail (Technology) industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Thorn Group lucrative customers.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Thorn Group is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Retail (Technology) industry, but Thorn Group needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Thorn Group to focus more on services in the Retail (Technology) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Thorn Group has some of the most successful models in the Retail (Technology) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Thorn Group should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

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 Thorn Group supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Thorn Group is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Thorn Group vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Thorn Group, in the dynamic environment of Retail (Technology) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Thorn Group has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Thorn Group is just above the Retail (Technology) 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.

Employees’ less understanding of Thorn Group strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Thorn Group don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Retail (Technology) industry, Thorn Group 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.

---

Thorn Group Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Thorn Group are -

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Thorn Group can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Buying journey improvements

– Thorn Group can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Retail (Technology) 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Thorn Group 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Retail (Technology) industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Thorn Group in the Retail (Technology) industry. Now Thorn Group can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Retail (Technology) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Thorn Group can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Thorn Group has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Retail (Technology) industry. This can help Thorn Group to build a more holistic ecosystem for Thorn Group products in the Retail (Technology) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Thorn Group can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Retail (Technology) 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Thorn Group can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Thorn Group operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Retail (Technology) sector.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Thorn Group 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Retail (Technology) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Thorn Group 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. Thorn Group 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

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

Loyalty marketing

– Thorn Group 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Thorn Group can develop new processes and procedures in Retail (Technology) 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.

---

Threats Thorn Group External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Thorn Group are -

Environmental challenges

– Thorn Group 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. Thorn Group can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Retail (Technology) industry.

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 Thorn Group.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Thorn Group 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 Retail (Technology) industry and other sectors.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Retail (Technology) industry are lowering. It can presents Thorn Group with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Retail (Technology) sector.

Regulatory challenges

– Thorn Group 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 Retail (Technology) industry regulations.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Thorn Group may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Retail (Technology) sector.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Thorn Group is facing in Retail (Technology) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Thorn Group 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Thorn Group has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Retail (Technology) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Thorn Group needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Retail (Technology) 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.

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.

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 Thorn Group in the Retail (Technology) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Thorn Group needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Retail (Technology) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Thorn Group Template, Example

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

--- ---