SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Thiz Tech (Hong Kong)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Thiz Tech is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Thiz Tech can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Thiz Tech, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Thiz Tech 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 Thiz Tech can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Thiz Tech
2. Improving business portfolio management of Thiz Tech
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Computer Hardware sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Thiz Tech
Strengths of Thiz Tech | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Thiz Tech are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Thiz Tech in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Thiz Tech has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Thiz Tech to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Thiz Tech 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 Computer Hardware 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.
High brand equity
– Thiz Tech has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Thiz Tech to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Thiz Tech 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Thiz Tech comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Computer Hardware 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Computer Hardware industry
– Thiz Tech has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Thiz Tech to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Computer Hardware industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Thiz Tech to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Thiz Tech has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Thiz Tech 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Thiz Tech is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Hardware sector.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Thiz Tech is one of the leading players in the Computer Hardware industry in Hong Kong. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Hong Kong. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Thiz Tech 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 Thiz Tech is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Thiz Tech emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Thiz Tech 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.
Training and development
– Thiz Tech has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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.
Weaknesses of Thiz Tech | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Thiz Tech are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Thiz Tech is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Computer Hardware industry, but Thiz Tech needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Thiz Tech to focus more on services in the Computer Hardware industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Thiz Tech is one of the leading players in the Computer Hardware industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Hardware industry in last five years.
Lack of clear differentiation of Thiz Tech products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Thiz Tech needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Thiz Tech has high operating costs in the Computer Hardware industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Thiz Tech lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Thiz Tech is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Thiz Tech to provide better information regarding Computer Hardware products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Thiz Tech has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Computer Hardware industry over the last five years. Thiz Tech 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.
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 Thiz Tech supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Thiz Tech is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Thiz Tech vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Hardware industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong, Thiz Tech is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the Computer Hardware industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Thiz Tech needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Hardware industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Thiz Tech can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Thiz Tech is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Thiz Tech has some of the most successful models in the Computer Hardware industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Thiz Tech should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring in Computer Hardware industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Thiz Tech 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.
Thiz Tech Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Thiz Tech are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Thiz Tech to increase its market reach. Thiz Tech 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Thiz Tech is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Thiz Tech can utilize new technology in the field of Computer Hardware industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Thiz Tech 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Thiz Tech can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Thiz Tech operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Hardware sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Thiz Tech 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Thiz Tech can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Thiz Tech 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Thiz Tech in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Hardware industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Thiz Tech 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 Thiz Tech to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Thiz Tech has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Hardware industry. This can help Thiz Tech to build a more holistic ecosystem for Thiz Tech products in the Computer Hardware industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Thiz Tech can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Computer Hardware 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 Computer Hardware industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Thiz Tech 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. Thiz Tech 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Thiz Tech 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 Computer Hardware industry.
Threats Thiz Tech External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Thiz Tech are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Computer Hardware industry are lowering. It can presents Thiz Tech with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Computer Hardware sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Thiz Tech 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 Computer Hardware industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Thiz Tech is facing in Computer Hardware sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Hardware industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Thiz Tech can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Thiz Tech has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Hardware industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Thiz Tech needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Hardware 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.
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 Thiz Tech.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Thiz Tech can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate Thiz Tech prominent markets.
Increasing wage structure of Thiz Tech
– 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 Thiz Tech.
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 Thiz Tech business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Thiz Tech in Computer Hardware industry. The Computer Hardware 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Thiz Tech may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Hardware 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. Thiz Tech needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Hardware industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Thiz Tech 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. Thiz Tech can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Hardware industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Thiz Tech Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Thiz Tech 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 Thiz Tech 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 Thiz Tech 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 Thiz Tech 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 Thiz Tech needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
