SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for BayCurrent Consult (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , BayCurrent Consult is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of BayCurrent Consult
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that BayCurrent Consult can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the BayCurrent Consult, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which BayCurrent Consult 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 BayCurrent Consult can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of BayCurrent Consult
2. Improving business portfolio management of BayCurrent Consult
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Computer Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of BayCurrent Consult
Strengths of BayCurrent Consult | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of BayCurrent Consult are -
Innovation driven organization
– BayCurrent Consult is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Services sector.
Analytics focus
– BayCurrent Consult is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Computer Services 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– BayCurrent Consult has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Computer Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of BayCurrent Consult have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– BayCurrent Consult has one of the best training and development program in Technology industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– BayCurrent Consult has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled BayCurrent Consult to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that BayCurrent Consult 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.
Learning organization
- BayCurrent Consult 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 BayCurrent Consult is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at BayCurrent Consult emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Computer Services industry
– BayCurrent Consult has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled BayCurrent Consult to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Computer Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped BayCurrent Consult to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of BayCurrent Consult in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. BayCurrent Consult has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps BayCurrent Consult to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– BayCurrent Consult has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. BayCurrent Consult 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– BayCurrent Consult has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – BayCurrent Consult staying ahead in the Computer Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of BayCurrent Consult comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Computer 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.
Weaknesses of BayCurrent Consult | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BayCurrent Consult are -
Employees’ less understanding of BayCurrent Consult strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of BayCurrent Consult 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
BayCurrent Consult has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Computer 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.
Skills based hiring in Computer Services industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at BayCurrent Consult 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, BayCurrent Consult has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Computer Services industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that BayCurrent Consult needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at BayCurrent Consult can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as BayCurrent Consult is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Computer Services industry, BayCurrent Consult 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.
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 BayCurrent Consult supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, BayCurrent Consult is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left BayCurrent Consult vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on BayCurrent Consult ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of BayCurrent Consult still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Computer Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though BayCurrent Consult has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, BayCurrent Consult is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help BayCurrent Consult to provide better information regarding Computer Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, BayCurrent Consult 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of BayCurrent Consult is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Computer Services industry, but BayCurrent Consult needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help BayCurrent Consult to focus more on services in the Computer Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
BayCurrent Consult Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of BayCurrent Consult are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for BayCurrent Consult 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 BayCurrent Consult to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. BayCurrent Consult 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. BayCurrent Consult 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of BayCurrent Consult has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Services industry. This can help BayCurrent Consult to build a more holistic ecosystem for BayCurrent Consult products in the Computer Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, BayCurrent Consult is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. BayCurrent Consult can utilize new technology in the field of Computer Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help BayCurrent Consult to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for BayCurrent Consult in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help BayCurrent Consult to increase its market reach. BayCurrent Consult will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects BayCurrent Consult 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 Computer Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for BayCurrent Consult in the Computer Services industry. Now BayCurrent Consult can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. BayCurrent Consult can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, BayCurrent Consult can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that BayCurrent Consult operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Services sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– BayCurrent Consult 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.
Loyalty marketing
– BayCurrent Consult 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.
Threats BayCurrent Consult External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of BayCurrent Consult are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on BayCurrent Consult demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Computer Services industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of BayCurrent Consult
– 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 BayCurrent Consult.
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. BayCurrent Consult 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.
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 BayCurrent Consult.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– BayCurrent Consult 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, BayCurrent Consult 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 BayCurrent Consult prominent markets.
Environmental challenges
– BayCurrent Consult 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. BayCurrent Consult can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Services industry.
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. BayCurrent Consult needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– BayCurrent Consult 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 Computer Services industry.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– BayCurrent Consult has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, BayCurrent Consult needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Services 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. BayCurrent Consult can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BayCurrent Consult Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at BayCurrent Consult 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 BayCurrent Consult 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 BayCurrent Consult 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 BayCurrent Consult 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 BayCurrent Consult needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
