Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd (9048) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Misc. Transportation
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Misc. Transportation sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd
Strengths of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd are -
Organizational Resilience of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Misc. Transportation 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Transportation industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation industry in Japan. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Japan. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nagoya Railroad Co 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.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Transportation industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nagoya Railroad Co 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Transportation sector.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd in Misc. Transportation industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd in the Transportation sector have low bargaining power. Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Transportation 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.
Learning organization
- Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Transportation
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Transportation industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Transportation industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Misc. Transportation industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Misc. Transportation 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Misc. Transportation industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nagoya Railroad Co 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd has high operating costs in the Misc. Transportation industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd lucrative customers.
High dependence on Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Transportation industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Transportation industry, but Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd to focus more on services in the Misc. Transportation industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is just above the Misc. Transportation 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Transportation industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd 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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Misc. Transportation industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd 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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Misc. Transportation industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Transportation industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd in the Misc. Transportation industry. Now Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Misc. Transportation 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Misc. Transportation industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Nagoya Railroad Co 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. Nagoya Railroad Co 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.
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. Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Nagoya Railroad Co 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Misc. Transportation industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Transportation industry. This can help Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd products in the Misc. Transportation 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, Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Transportation sector.
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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Misc. Transportation 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.
Threats Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd is facing in Misc. Transportation sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd prominent markets.
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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Misc. Transportation sector.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Transportation industry are lowering. It can presents Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Transportation sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Misc. Transportation industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Misc. Transportation industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd 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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd in the Misc. Transportation sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Misc. Transportation industry regulations.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
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. Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Transportation industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Misc. Transportation industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Nagoya Railroad Co 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 Nagoya Railroad Co Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.