Japan Cash Machine (6418) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Japan Cash Machine (Japan)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Japan Cash Machine is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Japan Cash Machine

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Japan Cash Machine can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Japan Cash Machine, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Japan Cash Machine
2. Improving business portfolio management of Japan Cash Machine
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Office Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Japan Cash Machine

---

Strengths of Japan Cash Machine | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Japan Cash Machine are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Japan Cash Machine in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Japan Cash Machine has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Japan Cash Machine to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Diverse revenue streams

– Japan Cash Machine is present in almost all the verticals within the Office Equipment industry. This has provided Japan Cash Machine a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Japan Cash Machine 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Japan Cash Machine is one of the most innovative firm in Office Equipment sector.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Japan Cash Machine comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Office Equipment 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Japan Cash Machine has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Japan Cash Machine 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.

Organizational Resilience of Japan Cash Machine

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Japan Cash Machine is one of the leading players in the Office Equipment industry in Japan. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Japan. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Digital Transformation in Office Equipment industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Japan Cash Machine digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Japan Cash Machine 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.

Training and development

– Japan Cash Machine 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Japan Cash Machine in Office Equipment industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

---

---

Weaknesses of Japan Cash Machine | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Japan Cash Machine are -

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Japan Cash Machine is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Office Equipment industry, but Japan Cash Machine needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Japan Cash Machine to focus more on services in the Office Equipment industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Office Equipment industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Japan Cash Machine 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 Office Equipment industry.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Japan Cash Machine, in the dynamic environment of Office Equipment industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Japan Cash Machine has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Japan Cash Machine needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Office Equipment industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Japan Cash Machine can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Japan Cash Machine is planning to shift buying processes online.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Japan Cash Machine is just above the Office Equipment 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 decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Japan Cash Machine has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Office Equipment industry over the last five years. Japan Cash Machine 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Japan, Japan Cash Machine needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Employees’ less understanding of Japan Cash Machine strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Japan Cash Machine 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Japan Cash Machine products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Japan Cash Machine needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Japan Cash Machine is one of the leading players in the Office Equipment industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Office Equipment industry in last five years.

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 Japan Cash Machine supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Japan Cash Machine is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Japan Cash Machine vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

---

Japan Cash Machine Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Japan Cash Machine are -

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Japan Cash Machine is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Japan Cash Machine can utilize new technology in the field of Office Equipment industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Japan Cash Machine has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Office Equipment sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Japan Cash Machine to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Japan Cash Machine to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Japan Cash Machine 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Office Equipment industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Japan Cash Machine 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. Japan Cash Machine 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Office Equipment industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Japan Cash Machine can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Loyalty marketing

– Japan Cash Machine 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Japan Cash Machine 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Japan Cash Machine 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 Office Equipment industry.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Japan Cash Machine 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Office Equipment industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Japan Cash Machine in the Office Equipment industry. Now Japan Cash Machine can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Japan Cash Machine has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Office Equipment industry. This can help Japan Cash Machine to build a more holistic ecosystem for Japan Cash Machine products in the Office Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

---

Threats Japan Cash Machine External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Japan Cash Machine are -

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. Japan Cash Machine needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Office Equipment industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Japan Cash Machine is facing in Office Equipment sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Japan Cash Machine 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Japan Cash Machine 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 Office Equipment industry.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Japan Cash Machine has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Office Equipment industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Japan Cash Machine needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Office Equipment 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 Japan Cash Machine

– 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 Japan Cash Machine.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine prominent markets.

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.

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. Japan Cash Machine 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.

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 Japan Cash Machine in the Office Equipment sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Office Equipment industry are lowering. It can presents Japan Cash Machine with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Office Equipment sector.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Office Equipment industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Japan Cash Machine can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Environmental challenges

– Japan Cash Machine 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. Japan Cash Machine can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Office Equipment industry.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Japan Cash Machine Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine 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 Japan Cash Machine needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---