SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Labixiaoxin Snacks (Hong Kong)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Labixiaoxin Snacks is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Labixiaoxin Snacks
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Labixiaoxin Snacks can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Labixiaoxin Snacks, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Labixiaoxin Snacks
2. Improving business portfolio management of Labixiaoxin Snacks
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Food Processing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Labixiaoxin Snacks
Strengths of Labixiaoxin Snacks | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Labixiaoxin Snacks are -
Training and development
– Labixiaoxin Snacks has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-Cyclical 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Labixiaoxin Snacks has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Food Processing industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Labixiaoxin Snacks have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Food Processing industry. The technology infrastructure of Hong Kong 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Labixiaoxin Snacks has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Food Processing industry
– Labixiaoxin Snacks has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Labixiaoxin Snacks to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Food Processing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Labixiaoxin Snacks to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Labixiaoxin Snacks in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Labixiaoxin Snacks has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Labixiaoxin Snacks to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Labixiaoxin Snacks is present in almost all the verticals within the Food Processing industry. This has provided Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Digital Transformation in Food Processing industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Labixiaoxin Snacks digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Food Processing industry
– Labixiaoxin Snacks is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Labixiaoxin Snacks is one of the most innovative firm in Food Processing sector.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Labixiaoxin Snacks has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Labixiaoxin Snacks staying ahead in the Food Processing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of Labixiaoxin Snacks | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Labixiaoxin Snacks are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Labixiaoxin Snacks is just above the Food Processing 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Labixiaoxin Snacks, in the dynamic environment of Food Processing industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Labixiaoxin Snacks has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Labixiaoxin Snacks needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Food Processing industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Labixiaoxin Snacks can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Labixiaoxin Snacks is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Labixiaoxin Snacks is one of the leading players in the Food Processing industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Food Processing industry in last five years.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Labixiaoxin Snacks has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Food Processing industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Labixiaoxin Snacks is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Food Processing industry, but Labixiaoxin Snacks needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Labixiaoxin Snacks to focus more on services in the Food Processing 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Labixiaoxin Snacks is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Labixiaoxin Snacks vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in Food Processing industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Labixiaoxin Snacks has high operating costs in the Food Processing industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Labixiaoxin Snacks lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Labixiaoxin Snacks Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Labixiaoxin Snacks are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Labixiaoxin Snacks to increase its market reach. Labixiaoxin Snacks will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
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. Labixiaoxin Snacks can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Labixiaoxin Snacks has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Food Processing sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Labixiaoxin Snacks to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Labixiaoxin Snacks to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Labixiaoxin Snacks can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Food Processing 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Labixiaoxin Snacks has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Food Processing industry. This can help Labixiaoxin Snacks to build a more holistic ecosystem for Labixiaoxin Snacks products in the Food Processing 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks 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
– Labixiaoxin Snacks can develop new processes and procedures in Food Processing 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Labixiaoxin Snacks can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Labixiaoxin Snacks operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Food Processing sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Food Processing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Labixiaoxin Snacks can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Labixiaoxin Snacks External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Labixiaoxin Snacks are -
Increasing wage structure of Labixiaoxin Snacks
– 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks.
Regulatory challenges
– Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Food Processing industry regulations.
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. Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Labixiaoxin Snacks 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.
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. Labixiaoxin Snacks needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Food Processing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Labixiaoxin Snacks is facing in Food Processing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Labixiaoxin Snacks 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. Labixiaoxin Snacks can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Food Processing industry.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Food Processing industry are lowering. It can presents Labixiaoxin Snacks with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Food Processing sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Food Processing industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Labixiaoxin Snacks in the Food Processing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Labixiaoxin Snacks Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks 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 Labixiaoxin Snacks needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.