SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Fujibo Holdings Inc (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Fujibo Holdings Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fujibo Holdings Inc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Fujibo Holdings Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fujibo Holdings Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Fujibo Holdings Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fujibo Holdings Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Textiles - Non Apparel sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Fujibo Holdings Inc
Strengths of Fujibo Holdings Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fujibo Holdings Inc are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fujibo Holdings Inc 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fujibo Holdings Inc in Textiles - Non Apparel industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Textiles - Non Apparel
– Fujibo Holdings Inc is one of the leading players in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Fujibo Holdings Inc 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)
– Fujibo Holdings Inc has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Fujibo Holdings Inc staying ahead in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– Fujibo Holdings Inc has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fujibo Holdings Inc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fujibo Holdings Inc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Textiles - Non Apparel 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
– Fujibo Holdings Inc has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Textiles - Non Apparel industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Fujibo Holdings Inc have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Fujibo Holdings Inc has one of the best training and development program in Consumer Cyclical 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
– Fujibo Holdings Inc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Fujibo Holdings Inc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fujibo Holdings Inc has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fujibo Holdings Inc 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.
Learning organization
- Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Fujibo Holdings Inc emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– Fujibo Holdings Inc is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses of Fujibo Holdings Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fujibo Holdings Inc are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Fujibo Holdings Inc, in the dynamic environment of Textiles - Non Apparel industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fujibo Holdings Inc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry using digital technology.
Employees’ less understanding of Fujibo Holdings Inc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Fujibo Holdings Inc 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Fujibo Holdings Inc has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry over the last five years. Fujibo Holdings Inc even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fujibo Holdings Inc has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Fujibo Holdings Inc has high operating costs in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Fujibo Holdings Inc lucrative customers.
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 Fujibo Holdings Inc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Fujibo Holdings Inc is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Fujibo Holdings Inc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Fujibo Holdings Inc 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry, Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Fujibo Holdings Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Fujibo Holdings Inc are -
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 Fujibo Holdings Inc 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Fujibo Holdings Inc in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. Now Fujibo Holdings Inc 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. Fujibo Holdings Inc can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fujibo Holdings Inc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Textiles - Non Apparel industry. This can help Fujibo Holdings Inc to build a more holistic ecosystem for Fujibo Holdings Inc products in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fujibo Holdings Inc 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fujibo Holdings Inc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Textiles - Non Apparel sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Fujibo Holdings Inc to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fujibo Holdings Inc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Fujibo Holdings Inc can develop new processes and procedures in Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fujibo Holdings Inc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fujibo Holdings Inc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Fujibo Holdings Inc to increase its market reach. Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Fujibo Holdings Inc are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry and other sectors.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Fujibo Holdings Inc 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.
Environmental challenges
– Fujibo Holdings Inc 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. Fujibo Holdings Inc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Textiles - Non Apparel 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. Fujibo Holdings Inc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Textiles - Non Apparel industry are lowering. It can presents Fujibo Holdings Inc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
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. Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc prominent markets.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fujibo Holdings Inc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fujibo Holdings Inc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Increasing wage structure of Fujibo Holdings Inc
– 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Textiles - Non Apparel industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Fujibo Holdings Inc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fujibo Holdings Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc 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 Fujibo Holdings Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
