D Link India Ltd (DLIL) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Office Equipment
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for D Link India Ltd (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , D Link India Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that D Link India Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the D Link India Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which D Link India 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 D Link India Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of D Link India Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of D Link India Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Office Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of D Link India Ltd
Strengths of D Link India Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of D Link India Ltd are -
Innovation driven organization
– D Link India Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Office Equipment sector.
Organizational Resilience of D Link India Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing D Link India Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Office Equipment
– D Link India Ltd is one of the leading players in the Office Equipment industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Office Equipment industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled D Link India Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management in the Office Equipment industry
– D Link India 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– D Link India Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. D Link India 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– D Link India Ltd is one of the leading players in the Office Equipment industry in India. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in India. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of D Link India Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Office Equipment 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.
Training and development
– D Link India Ltd 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Office Equipment industry
– D Link India Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled D Link India Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Office Equipment industry. The sustainable margins have also helped D Link India Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– D Link India Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled D Link India Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– D Link India Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Office Equipment industry. This has provided D Link India 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that D Link India 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.
Weaknesses of D Link India Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of D Link India Ltd are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that D Link India Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Office Equipment industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at D Link India Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as D Link India Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on D Link India Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of D Link India Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Office Equipment industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though D Link India Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, D Link India Ltd has high operating costs in the Office Equipment industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract D Link India Ltd lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
D Link India Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Office Equipment industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of D Link India Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Office Equipment industry, but D Link India Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help D Link India Ltd to focus more on services in the Office Equipment industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at D Link India Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Office Equipment industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. D Link India Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, D Link India 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 Office Equipment industry using digital technology.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of D Link India Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Office Equipment 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of D Link India Ltd is just above the Office Equipment 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.
Need for greater diversity
– D Link India Ltd 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, D Link India Ltd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help D Link India Ltd to provide better information regarding Office Equipment products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
D Link India Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of D Link India Ltd are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of D Link India Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Office Equipment industry. This can help D Link India Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for D Link India Ltd products in the Office Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at D Link India 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 Office Equipment industry.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for D Link India 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 D Link India Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Office Equipment industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. D Link India 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. D Link India 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.
Buying journey improvements
– D Link India Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Office Equipment 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.
Manufacturing automation
– D Link India Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Office Equipment 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– D Link India Ltd 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– D Link India Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Office Equipment sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled D Link India Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help D Link India Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 D Link India 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for D Link India Ltd 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help D Link India Ltd to increase its market reach. D Link India Ltd 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Office Equipment industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for D Link India Ltd in the Office Equipment industry. Now D Link India Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, D Link India Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that D Link India Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Office Equipment sector.
Threats D Link India Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of D Link India Ltd 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– D Link India 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on D Link India Ltd 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 Office Equipment industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Office Equipment industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. D Link India Ltd 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 Office Equipment industry are lowering. It can presents D Link India Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Office Equipment sector.
Environmental challenges
– D Link India 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. D Link India Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Office Equipment industry.
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 D Link India Ltd in the Office Equipment sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, D Link India 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 Office Equipment 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. D Link India Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Office Equipment industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for D Link India Ltd in Office Equipment industry. The Office Equipment 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.
Regulatory challenges
– D Link India 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 Office Equipment industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– D Link India 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 Office Equipment industry.
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. D Link India 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of D Link India Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at D Link India 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 D Link India 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 D Link India 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 D Link India 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 D Link India Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
