SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Rhythm Biosciences (Australia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Rhythm Biosciences is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rhythm Biosciences
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Rhythm Biosciences can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rhythm Biosciences, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rhythm Biosciences 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 Rhythm Biosciences can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Rhythm Biosciences
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rhythm Biosciences
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Australia
4. Making a Medical Equipment & Supplies sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Rhythm Biosciences
Strengths of Rhythm Biosciences | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rhythm Biosciences are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– Rhythm Biosciences has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Rhythm Biosciences to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Rhythm Biosciences to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Rhythm Biosciences has one of the best training and development program in Healthcare 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Rhythm Biosciences is one of the leading players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in Australia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Australia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Rhythm Biosciences 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Rhythm Biosciences 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Rhythm Biosciences in the Healthcare sector have low bargaining power. Rhythm Biosciences has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rhythm Biosciences to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Rhythm Biosciences
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Rhythm Biosciences does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– Rhythm Biosciences is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Rhythm Biosciences is one of the most innovative firm in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Rhythm Biosciences comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Rhythm Biosciences is present in almost all the verticals within the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This has provided Rhythm Biosciences 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.
High brand equity
– Rhythm Biosciences has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Rhythm Biosciences to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses of Rhythm Biosciences | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rhythm Biosciences are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Rhythm Biosciences, in the dynamic environment of Medical Equipment & Supplies industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Rhythm Biosciences has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Rhythm Biosciences has some of the most successful models in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Rhythm Biosciences should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, Rhythm Biosciences 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Rhythm Biosciences, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Skills based hiring in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Rhythm Biosciences 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rhythm Biosciences is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Rhythm Biosciences to provide better information regarding Medical Equipment & Supplies products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Rhythm Biosciences products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Rhythm Biosciences needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ less understanding of Rhythm Biosciences strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Rhythm Biosciences 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.
High dependence on Rhythm Biosciences ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Rhythm Biosciences still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Rhythm Biosciences has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Rhythm Biosciences needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Rhythm Biosciences can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Rhythm Biosciences is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Rhythm Biosciences is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, but Rhythm Biosciences needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Rhythm Biosciences to focus more on services in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Rhythm Biosciences Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Rhythm Biosciences are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Rhythm Biosciences is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Rhythm Biosciences can utilize new technology in the field of Medical Equipment & Supplies industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rhythm Biosciences 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Loyalty marketing
– Rhythm Biosciences 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
– Rhythm Biosciences can develop new processes and procedures in Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Rhythm Biosciences 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 Rhythm Biosciences 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, Rhythm Biosciences 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Rhythm Biosciences can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Rhythm Biosciences in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. Now Rhythm Biosciences can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Rhythm Biosciences has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This can help Rhythm Biosciences to build a more holistic ecosystem for Rhythm Biosciences products in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Rhythm Biosciences in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Rhythm Biosciences has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Rhythm Biosciences to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Rhythm Biosciences to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Rhythm Biosciences 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rhythm Biosciences can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rhythm Biosciences operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Threats Rhythm Biosciences External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Rhythm Biosciences are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Rhythm Biosciences in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. The Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rhythm Biosciences 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry and other sectors.
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. Rhythm Biosciences needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Rhythm Biosciences 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Rhythm Biosciences 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. Rhythm Biosciences can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rhythm Biosciences 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Increasing wage structure of Rhythm Biosciences
– 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 Rhythm Biosciences.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Rhythm Biosciences 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.
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 Rhythm Biosciences.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Rhythm Biosciences can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Rhythm Biosciences 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 Rhythm Biosciences prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rhythm Biosciences Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Rhythm Biosciences 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 Rhythm Biosciences 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 Rhythm Biosciences 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 Rhythm Biosciences 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 Rhythm Biosciences needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.