SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for LaserBond Ltd (Australia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , LaserBond Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that LaserBond Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the LaserBond Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which LaserBond Ltd 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 LaserBond Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of LaserBond Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of LaserBond Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Australia
4. Making a Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of LaserBond Ltd
Strengths of LaserBond Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of LaserBond Ltd are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that LaserBond Ltd 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.
Organizational Resilience of LaserBond Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing LaserBond Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- LaserBond Ltd 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 LaserBond Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at LaserBond Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– LaserBond Ltd 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– LaserBond Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This has provided LaserBond Ltd 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– LaserBond Ltd is one of the leading players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry in Australia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Australia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– LaserBond Ltd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of LaserBond Ltd in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the LaserBond Ltd 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.
High brand equity
– LaserBond Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled LaserBond Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– LaserBond Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled LaserBond Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. The sustainable margins have also helped LaserBond Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– LaserBond Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. LaserBond Ltd 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.
Weaknesses of LaserBond Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of LaserBond Ltd are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, LaserBond Ltd 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, LaserBond Ltd 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, LaserBond Ltd 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry using digital technology.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Australia, LaserBond Ltd 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, LaserBond Ltd has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry over the last five years. LaserBond Ltd 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, LaserBond Ltd has high operating costs in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract LaserBond Ltd lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though LaserBond Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. LaserBond Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of LaserBond Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, but LaserBond Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help LaserBond Ltd to focus more on services in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at LaserBond Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. LaserBond Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
LaserBond Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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 LaserBond Ltd is one of the leading players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry in last five years.
LaserBond Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of LaserBond Ltd are -
Loyalty marketing
– LaserBond Ltd 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, LaserBond Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that LaserBond Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, LaserBond Ltd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. LaserBond Ltd can utilize new technology in the field of Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for LaserBond Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– LaserBond Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, LaserBond Ltd 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.
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 LaserBond Ltd 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. LaserBond Ltd 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. LaserBond Ltd 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 LaserBond Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This can help LaserBond Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for LaserBond Ltd products in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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 LaserBond Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at LaserBond Ltd 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry.
Buying journey improvements
– LaserBond Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for LaserBond Ltd to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for LaserBond Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats LaserBond Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of LaserBond Ltd are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that LaserBond Ltd is facing in Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. LaserBond Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, LaserBond Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– LaserBond Ltd 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry.
Environmental challenges
– LaserBond Ltd 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. LaserBond Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Increasing wage structure of LaserBond Ltd
– 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 LaserBond Ltd.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry are lowering. It can presents LaserBond Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for LaserBond Ltd in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. The Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
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. LaserBond Ltd 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.
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 LaserBond Ltd in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– LaserBond Ltd 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– LaserBond Ltd 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of LaserBond Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at LaserBond Ltd 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 LaserBond Ltd 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 LaserBond Ltd 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 LaserBond Ltd 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 LaserBond Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.