Info Services Intl Dentsu (4812) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Software & Programming
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Info Services Intl Dentsu (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Info Services Intl Dentsu is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Info Services Intl Dentsu
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Info Services Intl Dentsu can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Info Services Intl Dentsu, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Info Services Intl Dentsu can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Info Services Intl Dentsu
2. Improving business portfolio management of Info Services Intl Dentsu
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Software & Programming sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Info Services Intl Dentsu
Strengths of Info Services Intl Dentsu | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Info Services Intl Dentsu are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Software & Programming industry
– Info Services Intl Dentsu has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Info Services Intl Dentsu to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Software & Programming industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Info Services Intl Dentsu to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Info Services Intl Dentsu is one of the most innovative firm in Software & Programming sector.
Organizational Resilience of Info Services Intl Dentsu
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Info Services Intl Dentsu does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Info Services Intl Dentsu is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming 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.
Ability to lead change in Software & Programming
– Info Services Intl Dentsu is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Software & Programming industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Info Services Intl Dentsu in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Info Services Intl Dentsu has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Info Services Intl Dentsu to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Info Services Intl Dentsu is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Info Services Intl Dentsu emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Info Services Intl Dentsu comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Software & Programming 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Info Services Intl Dentsu has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Software & Programming industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Info Services Intl Dentsu have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Info Services Intl Dentsu has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Info Services Intl Dentsu has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Strong track record of project management in the Software & Programming industry
– Info Services Intl Dentsu is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Info Services Intl Dentsu in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Info Services Intl Dentsu has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Info Services Intl Dentsu to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of Info Services Intl Dentsu | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Info Services Intl Dentsu are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Info Services Intl Dentsu has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Software & Programming industry over the last five years. Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Software & Programming industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Software & Programming industry.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Info Services Intl Dentsu has some of the most successful models in the Software & Programming industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Info Services Intl Dentsu should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Info Services Intl Dentsu is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Software & Programming industry in last five years.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Info Services Intl Dentsu, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Software & Programming 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Software & Programming industry, Info Services Intl Dentsu needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Need for greater diversity
– Info Services Intl Dentsu 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Software & Programming industry using digital technology.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Info Services Intl Dentsu is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Software & Programming industry, but Info Services Intl Dentsu needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Info Services Intl Dentsu to focus more on services in the Software & Programming industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Info Services Intl Dentsu supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Info Services Intl Dentsu is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Info Services Intl Dentsu vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Japan, Info Services Intl Dentsu needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Info Services Intl Dentsu Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Info Services Intl Dentsu are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Info Services Intl Dentsu can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Info Services Intl Dentsu operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Software & Programming sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Software & Programming industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Info Services Intl Dentsu 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. Info Services Intl Dentsu 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Info Services Intl Dentsu has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Software & Programming sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Info Services Intl Dentsu to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Info Services Intl Dentsu to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Info Services Intl Dentsu to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Software & Programming industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Info Services Intl Dentsu in the Software & Programming industry. Now Info Services Intl Dentsu can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Info Services Intl Dentsu can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Info Services Intl Dentsu 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Info Services Intl Dentsu in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Software & Programming industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Info Services Intl Dentsu 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Software & Programming industry.
Buying journey improvements
– Info Services Intl Dentsu can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Software & Programming 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Info Services Intl Dentsu 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Info Services Intl Dentsu is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Info Services Intl Dentsu can utilize new technology in the field of Software & Programming industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats Info Services Intl Dentsu External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Info Services Intl Dentsu are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Software & Programming industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Software & Programming industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Info Services Intl Dentsu can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Info Services Intl Dentsu
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Info Services Intl Dentsu.
Environmental challenges
– Info Services Intl Dentsu 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. Info Services Intl Dentsu can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Software & Programming industry.
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.
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. Info Services Intl Dentsu needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Software & Programming industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Info Services Intl Dentsu is facing in Software & Programming sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Info Services Intl Dentsu in the Software & Programming sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Software & Programming industry regulations.
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. Info Services Intl Dentsu 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Info Services Intl Dentsu has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Software & Programming industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Info Services Intl Dentsu needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Software & Programming 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Info Services Intl Dentsu may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Software & Programming sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Info Services Intl Dentsu Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Info Services Intl Dentsu 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 Info Services Intl Dentsu needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
