Entreprendre (ALENR) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Entreprendre (France)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Entreprendre is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Entreprendre

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

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

The strengths of Entreprendre are -

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Ability to lead change in Printing & Publishing

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

Training and development

– Entreprendre has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.

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

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

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Entreprendre has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Entreprendre 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Entreprendre 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 recruit top talent

– Entreprendre is one of the leading players in the Printing & Publishing industry in France. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in France. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Entreprendre has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Printing & Publishing industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Entreprendre have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Innovation driven organization

– Entreprendre is one of the most innovative firm in Printing & Publishing sector.

Learning organization

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

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Printing & Publishing industry

– Entreprendre has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Entreprendre to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Printing & Publishing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Entreprendre to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

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

The weaknesses of Entreprendre are -

Products dominated business model

– Even though Entreprendre 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. Entreprendre should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

High dependence on Entreprendre ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Entreprendre 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 Entreprendre has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Lack of clear differentiation of Entreprendre products

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

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 Entreprendre supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Entreprendre is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Entreprendre 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, Entreprendre is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Entreprendre to provide better information regarding Printing & Publishing products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Entreprendre is one of the leading players in the Printing & Publishing industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Printing & Publishing industry in last five years.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Entreprendre has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Printing & Publishing industry over the last five years. Entreprendre 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Entreprendre needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Printing & Publishing industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Entreprendre can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Entreprendre is planning to shift buying processes online.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Printing & Publishing industry, Entreprendre 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.

Employees’ less understanding of Entreprendre strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Entreprendre 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

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

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

The opportunities of Entreprendre are -

Manufacturing automation

– Entreprendre 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Entreprendre can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Entreprendre operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Printing & Publishing sector.

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. Entreprendre can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Entreprendre 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Entreprendre 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Entreprendre is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Entreprendre 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

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

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. Entreprendre 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. Entreprendre 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 Entreprendre has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Printing & Publishing industry. This can help Entreprendre to build a more holistic ecosystem for Entreprendre products in the Printing & Publishing industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Developing new processes and practices

– Entreprendre can develop new processes and procedures in Printing & Publishing 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Entreprendre 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Entreprendre 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.

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

The threats of Entreprendre are -

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 Entreprendre in the Printing & Publishing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Entreprendre 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.

Environmental challenges

– Entreprendre 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. Entreprendre can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors 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 Entreprendre 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Entreprendre 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.

Increasing wage structure of Entreprendre

– 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 Entreprendre.

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 Entreprendre business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Entreprendre may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Printing & Publishing sector.

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. Entreprendre needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Printing & Publishing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Entreprendre 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.

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. Entreprendre can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Entreprendre Template, Example

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

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