Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Todays Writing Instruments Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Todays Writing Instruments Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Todays Writing Instruments 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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Office Supplies sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd
Strengths of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd are -
Training and development
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Todays Writing Instruments 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.
High brand equity
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Todays Writing Instruments Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Todays Writing Instruments 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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Todays Writing Instruments Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Todays Writing Instruments Ltd staying ahead in the Office Supplies industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Office Supplies sector.
Digital Transformation in Office Supplies industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Todays Writing Instruments Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Todays Writing Instruments Ltd 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
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Todays Writing Instruments 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Office Supplies industry
– Todays Writing Instruments 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Todays Writing Instruments Ltd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Todays Writing Instruments 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 Office Supplies 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
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Office Supplies industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Office Supplies industry, Todays Writing Instruments 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, Todays Writing Instruments 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 Supplies industry using digital technology.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Office Supplies industry, but Todays Writing Instruments Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Todays Writing Instruments Ltd to focus more on services in the Office Supplies industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring in Office Supplies industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Todays Writing Instruments Ltd 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, Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has high operating costs in the Office Supplies industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Todays Writing Instruments Ltd lucrative customers.
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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Todays Writing Instruments Ltd is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Todays Writing Instruments Ltd vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Todays Writing Instruments Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Todays Writing Instruments Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Office Supplies industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Office Supplies industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in India, Todays Writing Instruments 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 Office Supplies industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Todays Writing Instruments 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Office Supplies 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.
Todays Writing Instruments Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Office Supplies industry. This can help Todays Writing Instruments Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Todays Writing Instruments Ltd products in the Office Supplies industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Todays Writing Instruments 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 Office Supplies industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Todays Writing Instruments 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 Supplies industry.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Todays Writing Instruments 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Office Supplies sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Todays Writing Instruments Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Todays Writing Instruments Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Todays Writing Instruments Ltd to increase its market reach. Todays Writing Instruments 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Office Supplies 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Office Supplies industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Office Supplies 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Todays Writing Instruments Ltd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can utilize new technology in the field of Office Supplies industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Todays Writing Instruments Ltd 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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Office Supplies industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Todays Writing Instruments 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. Todays Writing Instruments 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.
Threats Todays Writing Instruments Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Todays Writing Instruments Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Office Supplies industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Todays Writing Instruments Ltd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Office Supplies 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.
Environmental challenges
– Todays Writing Instruments 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. Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Office Supplies industry.
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. Todays Writing Instruments Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Office Supplies industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Todays Writing Instruments Ltd 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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd prominent markets.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Todays Writing Instruments 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 Supplies sector.
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.
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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd in the Office Supplies sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Todays Writing Instruments Ltd is facing in Office Supplies sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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.
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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Office Supplies industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Todays Writing Instruments Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Todays Writing Instruments 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.
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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Todays Writing Instruments Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Todays Writing Instruments 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 Todays Writing Instruments 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 Todays Writing Instruments 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 Todays Writing Instruments 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 Todays Writing Instruments Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.