SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Seiko Epson Cor (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Seiko Epson Cor is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Seiko Epson Cor can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Seiko Epson Cor, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Seiko Epson Cor 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 Seiko Epson Cor can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Seiko Epson Cor
2. Improving business portfolio management of Seiko Epson Cor
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Computer Peripherals sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Seiko Epson Cor
Strengths of Seiko Epson Cor | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Seiko Epson Cor are -
Digital Transformation in Computer Peripherals industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Seiko Epson Cor digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Seiko Epson Cor 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.
High brand equity
– Seiko Epson Cor has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Seiko Epson Cor to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Seiko Epson Cor 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Seiko Epson Cor in Computer Peripherals industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Seiko Epson Cor is present in almost all the verticals within the Computer Peripherals industry. This has provided Seiko Epson Cor 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
– Seiko Epson Cor has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Seiko Epson Cor 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.
Organizational Resilience of Seiko Epson Cor
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Seiko Epson Cor does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Seiko Epson Cor comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Computer Peripherals 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.
Analytics focus
– Seiko Epson Cor 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 Computer Peripherals industry. The technology infrastructure of Japan 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.
Ability to lead change in Computer Peripherals
– Seiko Epson Cor is one of the leading players in the Computer Peripherals industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Computer Peripherals industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Seiko Epson Cor in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Seiko Epson Cor has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Computer Peripherals industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Seiko Epson Cor have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Seiko Epson Cor is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Peripherals sector.
Weaknesses of Seiko Epson Cor | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Seiko Epson Cor are -
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Seiko Epson Cor, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Computer Peripherals 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Seiko Epson Cor is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Computer Peripherals industry, but Seiko Epson Cor needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Seiko Epson Cor to focus more on services in the Computer Peripherals industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ less understanding of Seiko Epson Cor strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Seiko Epson Cor 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Seiko Epson Cor products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Seiko Epson Cor needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Peripherals industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Seiko Epson Cor 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 Computer Peripherals industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Seiko Epson Cor needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Peripherals industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Seiko Epson Cor can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Seiko Epson Cor is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Seiko Epson Cor 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.
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 Seiko Epson Cor supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Seiko Epson Cor is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Seiko Epson Cor vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in Computer Peripherals industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Seiko Epson Cor 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 dependence on Seiko Epson Cor ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Seiko Epson Cor still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Computer Peripherals industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Seiko Epson Cor has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Seiko Epson Cor has some of the most successful models in the Computer Peripherals industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Seiko Epson Cor should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Seiko Epson Cor Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Seiko Epson Cor are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Seiko Epson Cor can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Seiko Epson Cor can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Computer Peripherals 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Peripherals industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Seiko Epson Cor 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. Seiko Epson Cor 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Seiko Epson Cor 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Seiko Epson Cor 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, Seiko Epson Cor is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Seiko Epson Cor can utilize new technology in the field of Computer Peripherals industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Seiko Epson Cor 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Seiko Epson Cor can develop new processes and procedures in Computer Peripherals 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Seiko Epson Cor 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 Seiko Epson Cor to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Seiko Epson Cor 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 Computer Peripherals industry.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Seiko Epson Cor can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Seiko Epson Cor operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Peripherals sector.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Computer Peripherals industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Seiko Epson Cor in the Computer Peripherals industry. Now Seiko Epson Cor can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Computer Peripherals industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Seiko Epson Cor can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Seiko Epson Cor External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Seiko Epson Cor are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Seiko Epson Cor may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Peripherals sector.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Computer Peripherals industry are lowering. It can presents Seiko Epson Cor with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Computer Peripherals sector.
Environmental challenges
– Seiko Epson Cor 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. Seiko Epson Cor can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Peripherals 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. Seiko Epson Cor 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Seiko Epson Cor 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Seiko Epson Cor 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 Computer Peripherals industry.
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 Seiko Epson Cor.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Seiko Epson Cor 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 Seiko Epson Cor prominent markets.
Regulatory challenges
– Seiko Epson Cor 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 Computer Peripherals industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Seiko Epson Cor has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Peripherals industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Seiko Epson Cor needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Peripherals 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Seiko Epson Cor 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 Computer Peripherals industry and other sectors.
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 Seiko Epson Cor in the Computer Peripherals sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Seiko Epson Cor needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Peripherals industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Seiko Epson Cor Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Seiko Epson Cor 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 Seiko Epson Cor 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 Seiko Epson Cor 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 Seiko Epson Cor 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 Seiko Epson Cor needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.