Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (9502) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (Japan)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.
2. Improving business portfolio management of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Electric Utilities sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.

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Strengths of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. are -

Learning organization

- Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is one of the most innovative firm in Electric Utilities sector.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. staying ahead in the Electric Utilities industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Organizational Resilience of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Diverse revenue streams

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is present in almost all the verticals within the Electric Utilities industry. This has provided Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. in Electric Utilities industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Strong track record of project management in the Electric Utilities industry

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Electric Utilities 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

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has one of the best training and development program in Utilities 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

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Weaknesses of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. are -

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Electric Utilities industry over the last five years. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 bargaining power of channel partners in Electric Utilities industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Electric Utilities industry.

Skills based hiring in Electric Utilities industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

Employees’ less understanding of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has some of the most successful models in the Electric Utilities industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., in the dynamic environment of Electric Utilities industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Electric Utilities industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is planning to shift buying processes online.

High dependence on Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Electric Utilities industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. to provide better information regarding Electric Utilities products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

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Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. are -

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Electric Utilities industry.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Electric Utilities industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Electric Utilities industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. in the Electric Utilities industry. Now Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. can utilize new technology in the field of Electric Utilities industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Electric Utilities industry. This can help Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. to build a more holistic ecosystem for Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. products in the Electric Utilities industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Electric Utilities sector.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Electric Utilities sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Loyalty marketing

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

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Threats Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. are -

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. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Electric Utilities industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Electric Utilities industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Electric Utilities sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc..

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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is facing in Electric Utilities sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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.

Environmental challenges

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Electric Utilities industry.

Regulatory challenges

– Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Electric Utilities industry regulations.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. in Electric Utilities industry. The Electric Utilities 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. prominent markets.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Electric Utilities industry are lowering. It can presents Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Electric Utilities sector.

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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. in the Electric Utilities sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. 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 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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