SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Dream Incubator Inc (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Dream Incubator Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dream Incubator Inc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Dream Incubator Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dream Incubator Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Dream Incubator Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dream Incubator Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Insurance (Accident & Health) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Dream Incubator Inc
Strengths of Dream Incubator Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dream Incubator Inc are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Dream Incubator Inc has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Dream Incubator Inc staying ahead in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– Dream Incubator 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Dream Incubator Inc is present in almost all the verticals within the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. This has provided Dream Incubator Inc 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 Dream Incubator Inc in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Dream Incubator Inc has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dream Incubator Inc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– Dream Incubator Inc has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dream Incubator Inc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dream Incubator Inc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Insurance (Accident & Health)
– Dream Incubator Inc is one of the leading players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Dream Incubator Inc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Dream Incubator Inc emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Dream Incubator Inc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dream Incubator Inc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Dream Incubator 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) 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
– Dream Incubator Inc has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Dream Incubator Inc have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Dream Incubator Inc in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dream Incubator Inc 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.
Weaknesses of Dream Incubator Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dream Incubator Inc are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Dream Incubator Inc is just above the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Skills based hiring in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dream Incubator 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Dream Incubator Inc products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Dream Incubator Inc needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Dream Incubator Inc, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, Dream Incubator 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Dream Incubator Inc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Dream Incubator 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dream Incubator Inc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, but Dream Incubator Inc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dream Incubator Inc to focus more on services in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Dream Incubator Inc needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Dream Incubator Inc can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dream Incubator Inc is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Dream Incubator Inc 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Dream Incubator Inc, in the dynamic environment of Insurance (Accident & Health) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dream Incubator Inc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Dream Incubator Inc has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Dream Incubator Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Dream Incubator Inc are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Dream Incubator Inc can develop new processes and procedures in Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Dream Incubator 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dream Incubator Inc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Dream Incubator Inc can utilize new technology in the field of Insurance (Accident & Health) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Dream Incubator Inc 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 Dream Incubator Inc to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Dream Incubator 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) industry.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Dream Incubator Inc in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. Now Dream Incubator Inc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Dream Incubator 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Dream Incubator Inc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. This can help Dream Incubator Inc to build a more holistic ecosystem for Dream Incubator Inc products in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Dream Incubator Inc 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dream Incubator Inc in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Dream Incubator Inc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dream Incubator Inc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Insurance (Accident & Health) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Dream Incubator Inc to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dream Incubator Inc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Dream Incubator Inc are -
Increasing wage structure of Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc prominent markets.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Dream Incubator Inc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Insurance (Accident & Health) 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. Dream Incubator 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.
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.
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 Dream Incubator Inc in the Insurance (Accident & Health) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Dream Incubator Inc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Dream Incubator Inc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Dream Incubator Inc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Insurance (Accident & Health) 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Dream Incubator Inc in Insurance (Accident & Health) industry. The Insurance (Accident & Health) industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Dream Incubator 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dream Incubator 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 Insurance (Accident & Health) industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Dream Incubator 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. Dream Incubator Inc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Insurance (Accident & Health) industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Dream Incubator 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dream Incubator Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator 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 Dream Incubator Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.