SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Maezawa Kyuso Industries (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Maezawa Kyuso Industries is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Maezawa Kyuso Industries
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Maezawa Kyuso Industries can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Maezawa Kyuso Industries, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Maezawa Kyuso Industries
2. Improving business portfolio management of Maezawa Kyuso Industries
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Misc. Fabricated Products sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Maezawa Kyuso Industries
Strengths of Maezawa Kyuso Industries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Maezawa Kyuso Industries are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Fabricated Products
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries is one of the leading players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Maezawa Kyuso Industries in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Fabricated Products industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Maezawa Kyuso Industries have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Maezawa Kyuso Industries staying ahead in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries is present in almost all the verticals within the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This has provided Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Maezawa Kyuso Industries in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Maezawa Kyuso Industries has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Maezawa Kyuso Industries to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Maezawa Kyuso Industries digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Maezawa Kyuso Industries has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Analytics focus
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Learning organization
- Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Maezawa Kyuso Industries emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Maezawa Kyuso Industries comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Maezawa Kyuso Industries are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Maezawa Kyuso Industries products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Maezawa Kyuso Industries needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Maezawa Kyuso Industries has high operating costs in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Maezawa Kyuso Industries lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Maezawa Kyuso Industries has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Maezawa Kyuso Industries should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Maezawa Kyuso Industries has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Employees’ less understanding of Maezawa Kyuso Industries strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Maezawa Kyuso Industries, in the dynamic environment of Misc. Fabricated Products industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Maezawa Kyuso Industries has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on Maezawa Kyuso Industries ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Maezawa Kyuso Industries still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Fabricated Products industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Maezawa Kyuso Industries has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Maezawa Kyuso Industries is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Maezawa Kyuso Industries vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry using digital technology.
Maezawa Kyuso Industries Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Maezawa Kyuso Industries are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Maezawa Kyuso Industries in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. Now Maezawa Kyuso Industries can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Maezawa Kyuso Industries has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This can help Maezawa Kyuso Industries to build a more holistic ecosystem for Maezawa Kyuso Industries products in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Maezawa Kyuso Industries can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Maezawa Kyuso Industries operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Maezawa Kyuso Industries in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Maezawa Kyuso Industries can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Developing new processes and practices
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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. Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Maezawa Kyuso Industries to increase its market reach. Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Maezawa Kyuso Industries can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Maezawa Kyuso Industries External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Maezawa Kyuso Industries are -
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries prominent markets.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry and other sectors.
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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Maezawa Kyuso Industries business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Fabricated Products industry are lowering. It can presents Maezawa Kyuso Industries with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Environmental challenges
– Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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. Maezawa Kyuso Industries can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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. Maezawa Kyuso Industries needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries in the Misc. Fabricated Products sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Maezawa Kyuso Industries may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Maezawa Kyuso Industries Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries 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 Maezawa Kyuso Industries needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.