SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Krosaki Harima Corp (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Krosaki Harima Corp is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Krosaki Harima Corp
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Krosaki Harima Corp can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Krosaki Harima Corp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Krosaki Harima Corp
2. Improving business portfolio management of Krosaki Harima Corp
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Krosaki Harima Corp
Strengths of Krosaki Harima Corp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Krosaki Harima Corp are -
Strong track record of project management in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry
– Krosaki Harima Corp is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Krosaki Harima Corp comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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
– Krosaki Harima Corp has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Krosaki Harima Corp have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Krosaki Harima Corp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Krosaki Harima Corp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Krosaki Harima Corp emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Krosaki Harima Corp has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Krosaki Harima Corp staying ahead in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Krosaki Harima Corp in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Krosaki Harima Corp 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.
Digital Transformation in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Krosaki Harima Corp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Krosaki Harima Corp 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.
Analytics focus
– Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Krosaki Harima Corp is one of the most innovative firm in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Krosaki Harima Corp has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Krosaki Harima Corp 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.
Weaknesses of Krosaki Harima Corp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Krosaki Harima Corp are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Krosaki Harima Corp is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry, but Krosaki Harima Corp needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Krosaki Harima Corp to focus more on services in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry using digital technology.
High dependence on Krosaki Harima Corp ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Krosaki Harima Corp still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Krosaki Harima Corp has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Krosaki Harima Corp is one of the leading players in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Krosaki Harima Corp 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Krosaki Harima Corp is just above the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Krosaki Harima Corp is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Krosaki Harima Corp to provide better information regarding Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Krosaki Harima Corp needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Krosaki Harima Corp can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Krosaki Harima Corp is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Krosaki Harima Corp has some of the most successful models in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Krosaki Harima Corp should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Krosaki Harima Corp 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.
Krosaki Harima Corp Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Krosaki Harima Corp are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Krosaki Harima Corp has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. This can help Krosaki Harima Corp to build a more holistic ecosystem for Krosaki Harima Corp products in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Krosaki Harima Corp has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Krosaki Harima Corp to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Krosaki Harima Corp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry.
Developing new processes and practices
– Krosaki Harima Corp can develop new processes and procedures in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Krosaki Harima Corp in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. Now Krosaki Harima Corp can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Krosaki Harima Corp 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Krosaki Harima Corp can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Krosaki Harima Corp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Krosaki Harima Corp is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Krosaki Harima Corp can utilize new technology in the field of Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats Krosaki Harima Corp External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Krosaki Harima Corp are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Krosaki Harima Corp may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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 Krosaki Harima Corp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry are lowering. It can presents Krosaki Harima Corp with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector.
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 Krosaki Harima Corp.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Krosaki Harima Corp is facing in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry and other sectors.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Krosaki Harima Corp has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Krosaki Harima Corp needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Krosaki Harima Corp in Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry. The Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures 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.
Environmental challenges
– Krosaki Harima Corp 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. Krosaki Harima Corp can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures industry.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Krosaki Harima Corp 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.
Increasing wage structure of Krosaki Harima Corp
– 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 Krosaki Harima Corp.
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 Krosaki Harima Corp in the Constr. - Supplies & Fixtures sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Krosaki Harima Corp 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Krosaki Harima Corp Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp 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 Krosaki Harima Corp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.