SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Secom Joshinetsu (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Secom Joshinetsu is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Secom Joshinetsu can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Secom Joshinetsu, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Secom Joshinetsu
2. Improving business portfolio management of Secom Joshinetsu
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Security Systems & Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Secom Joshinetsu
Strengths of Secom Joshinetsu | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Secom Joshinetsu are -
Digital Transformation in Security Systems & Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Secom Joshinetsu digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Secom Joshinetsu 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Secom Joshinetsu comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Security Systems & Services 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.
Organizational Resilience of Secom Joshinetsu
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Secom Joshinetsu does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu 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.
High brand equity
– Secom Joshinetsu has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Secom Joshinetsu to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Secom Joshinetsu is present in almost all the verticals within the Security Systems & Services industry. This has provided Secom Joshinetsu 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.
Training and development
– Secom Joshinetsu has one of the best training and development program in Services 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
- Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Secom Joshinetsu emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Security Systems & Services industry
– Secom Joshinetsu is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Security Systems & Services
– Secom Joshinetsu is one of the leading players in the Security Systems & Services industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Security Systems & Services industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Secom Joshinetsu in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Secom Joshinetsu has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Secom Joshinetsu staying ahead in the Security Systems & Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of Secom Joshinetsu | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Secom Joshinetsu are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Secom Joshinetsu has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Security Systems & Services industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Security Systems & Services industry, Secom Joshinetsu 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Secom Joshinetsu strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Secom Joshinetsu 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Secom Joshinetsu has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High 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 Secom Joshinetsu supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Secom Joshinetsu is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Secom Joshinetsu vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Japan, Secom Joshinetsu needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Security Systems & Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Secom Joshinetsu 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 Security Systems & Services industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of Secom Joshinetsu products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Secom Joshinetsu needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Secom Joshinetsu has high operating costs in the Security Systems & Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Secom Joshinetsu lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Secom Joshinetsu needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Security Systems & Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Secom Joshinetsu can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Secom Joshinetsu is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Secom Joshinetsu is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Security Systems & Services industry, but Secom Joshinetsu needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Secom Joshinetsu to focus more on services in the Security Systems & Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Secom Joshinetsu Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Secom Joshinetsu are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Secom Joshinetsu 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Secom Joshinetsu has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Security Systems & Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Secom Joshinetsu to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Secom Joshinetsu to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Secom Joshinetsu can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Secom Joshinetsu operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Security Systems & Services sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Security Systems & Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Secom Joshinetsu can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Secom Joshinetsu is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Secom Joshinetsu can utilize new technology in the field of Security Systems & Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Secom Joshinetsu can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Security Systems & Services 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Secom Joshinetsu 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.
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. Secom Joshinetsu can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Secom Joshinetsu 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 Security Systems & Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Secom Joshinetsu in the Security Systems & Services industry. Now Secom Joshinetsu can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Secom Joshinetsu can develop new processes and procedures in Security Systems & Services 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Secom Joshinetsu in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Security Systems & Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Secom Joshinetsu External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Secom Joshinetsu are -
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. Secom Joshinetsu needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Security Systems & Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Secom Joshinetsu
– 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 Secom Joshinetsu.
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 Secom Joshinetsu.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Secom Joshinetsu in Security Systems & Services industry. The Security Systems & Services 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Secom Joshinetsu 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 Security Systems & Services industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Security Systems & Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Secom Joshinetsu can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Secom Joshinetsu is facing in Security Systems & Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Secom Joshinetsu 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 Security Systems & Services industry are lowering. It can presents Secom Joshinetsu with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Security Systems & Services sector.
Environmental challenges
– Secom Joshinetsu 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. Secom Joshinetsu can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Security Systems & Services industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Secom Joshinetsu Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu 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 Secom Joshinetsu needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
