SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Automotive Stampings Assemblies (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Automotive Stampings Assemblies is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Automotive Stampings Assemblies
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Automotive Stampings Assemblies can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Automotive Stampings Assemblies, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Automotive Stampings Assemblies
2. Improving business portfolio management of Automotive Stampings Assemblies
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Misc. Fabricated Products sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Automotive Stampings Assemblies
Strengths of Automotive Stampings Assemblies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Automotive Stampings Assemblies are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Automotive Stampings Assemblies comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Automotive Stampings Assemblies digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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.
Training and development
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies has one of the best training and development program in Basic Materials 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Automotive Stampings Assemblies to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Automotive Stampings Assemblies to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry. The technology infrastructure of India 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Fabricated Products industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Automotive Stampings Assemblies have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Fabricated Products
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies is one of the leading players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Automotive Stampings Assemblies in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies is one of the leading players in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Weaknesses of Automotive Stampings Assemblies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Automotive Stampings Assemblies are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Automotive Stampings Assemblies products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Automotive Stampings Assemblies is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Automotive Stampings Assemblies vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Automotive Stampings Assemblies is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, but Automotive Stampings Assemblies needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Automotive Stampings Assemblies to focus more on services in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on Automotive Stampings Assemblies ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Automotive Stampings Assemblies still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Fabricated Products industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Automotive Stampings Assemblies has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Automotive Stampings Assemblies has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry over the last five years. Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of India, Automotive Stampings Assemblies needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Automotive Stampings Assemblies needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Automotive Stampings Assemblies can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Automotive Stampings Assemblies is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Automotive Stampings Assemblies is just above the Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Automotive Stampings Assemblies has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Skills based hiring in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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.
Automotive Stampings Assemblies Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Automotive Stampings Assemblies are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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.
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. Automotive Stampings Assemblies can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Automotive Stampings Assemblies is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Automotive Stampings Assemblies can utilize new technology in the field of Misc. Fabricated Products industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Automotive Stampings Assemblies in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. Now Automotive Stampings Assemblies can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Misc. Fabricated Products 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, Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Automotive Stampings Assemblies in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Automotive Stampings Assemblies External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Automotive Stampings Assemblies are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies prominent markets.
Environmental challenges
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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. Automotive Stampings Assemblies can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Misc. Fabricated Products industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Automotive Stampings Assemblies can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies in the Misc. Fabricated Products sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Automotive Stampings Assemblies has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Automotive Stampings Assemblies needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Automotive Stampings Assemblies in Misc. Fabricated Products industry. The Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies
– 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies.
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. Automotive Stampings Assemblies needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Automotive Stampings Assemblies Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies 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 Automotive Stampings Assemblies needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
