Konica Minolta, Inc. (4902) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Konica Minolta, Inc. (Japan)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Konica Minolta, Inc. is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Konica Minolta, Inc.

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Konica Minolta, Inc. can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Konica Minolta, Inc., and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Konica Minolta, 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 Konica Minolta, Inc. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Konica Minolta, Inc.
2. Improving business portfolio management of Konica Minolta, Inc.
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 Konica Minolta, Inc.

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Strengths of Konica Minolta, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Konica Minolta, Inc. are -

Ability to lead change in Computer Peripherals

– Konica Minolta, Inc. 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 Konica Minolta, Inc. in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Konica Minolta, Inc. is one of the leading players in the Computer Peripherals 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.

Analytics focus

– Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Konica Minolta, 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Konica Minolta, 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.

Digital Transformation in Computer Peripherals industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Konica Minolta, Inc. digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Konica Minolta, Inc. in Computer Peripherals industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Training and development

– Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

Learning organization

- Konica Minolta, 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 Konica Minolta, Inc. is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Konica Minolta, Inc. emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Konica Minolta, Inc. is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Peripherals sector.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Computer Peripherals industry

– Konica Minolta, Inc. has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Konica Minolta, Inc. to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Computer Peripherals industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Konica Minolta, Inc. to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Konica Minolta, Inc. has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Konica Minolta, 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.

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Weaknesses of Konica Minolta, Inc. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Konica Minolta, Inc. are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Konica Minolta, Inc. has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Computer Peripherals industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Konica Minolta, Inc. 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 Computer Peripherals industry using digital technology.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Konica Minolta, Inc., 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Konica Minolta, Inc. has high operating costs in the Computer Peripherals industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Konica Minolta, Inc. lucrative customers.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Konica Minolta, Inc. products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Konica Minolta, Inc. needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Konica Minolta, Inc. is one of the leading players in the Computer Peripherals industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Peripherals industry in last five years.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Konica Minolta, Inc. 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 Konica Minolta, Inc. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Konica Minolta, Inc. is planning to shift buying processes online.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Konica Minolta, Inc. 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. Konica Minolta, Inc. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

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

Skills based hiring in Computer Peripherals industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Konica Minolta, 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.

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Konica Minolta, Inc. Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Konica Minolta, Inc. are -

Buying journey improvements

– Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Konica Minolta, 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Konica Minolta, 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Konica Minolta, 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 Computer Peripherals industry.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Konica Minolta, Inc. in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Peripherals industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Konica Minolta, 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Konica Minolta, 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Konica Minolta, Inc. can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Manufacturing automation

– Konica Minolta, Inc. can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Computer Peripherals 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.

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 Konica Minolta, 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.

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 Konica Minolta, Inc. in the Computer Peripherals industry. Now Konica Minolta, Inc. can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

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. Konica Minolta, Inc. can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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Threats Konica Minolta, Inc. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Konica Minolta, Inc. are -

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.

Environmental challenges

– Konica Minolta, 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. Konica Minolta, Inc. can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Peripherals industry.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Konica Minolta, 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

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 Konica Minolta, Inc. business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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 Konica Minolta, Inc. in the Computer Peripherals sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Konica Minolta, 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 Computer Peripherals industry regulations.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Konica Minolta, Inc. in Computer Peripherals industry. The Computer Peripherals 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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Computer Peripherals industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Konica Minolta, Inc. can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Konica Minolta, Inc. has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Peripherals industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

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. Konica Minolta, Inc. needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Peripherals industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Konica Minolta, Inc. 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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Konica Minolta, Inc. Template, Example

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

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