SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for BroadBand Tower (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , BroadBand Tower is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that BroadBand Tower can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the BroadBand Tower, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which BroadBand Tower 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 BroadBand Tower can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of BroadBand Tower
2. Improving business portfolio management of BroadBand Tower
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Computer Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of BroadBand Tower
Strengths of BroadBand Tower | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of BroadBand Tower are -
Digital Transformation in Computer Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For BroadBand Tower digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. BroadBand Tower 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Computer Services industry
– BroadBand Tower has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled BroadBand Tower to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Computer Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped BroadBand Tower to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that BroadBand Tower 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– BroadBand Tower has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Computer Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of BroadBand Tower have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of BroadBand Tower in Computer Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– BroadBand Tower has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled BroadBand Tower to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Computer Services
– BroadBand Tower is one of the leading players in the Computer Services industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Computer Services industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled BroadBand Tower in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of BroadBand Tower in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. BroadBand Tower has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps BroadBand Tower to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– BroadBand Tower is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Services sector.
Organizational Resilience of BroadBand Tower
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing BroadBand Tower does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– BroadBand Tower is one of the leading players in the Computer Services 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.
Learning organization
- BroadBand Tower 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 BroadBand Tower is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at BroadBand Tower emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses of BroadBand Tower | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BroadBand Tower are -
Need for greater diversity
– BroadBand Tower 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, BroadBand Tower has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Computer Services industry over the last five years. BroadBand Tower 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, BroadBand Tower is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help BroadBand Tower to provide better information regarding Computer Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though BroadBand Tower has some of the most successful models in the Computer Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. BroadBand Tower should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As BroadBand Tower is one of the leading players in the Computer Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Services industry in last five years.
Lack of clear differentiation of BroadBand Tower products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, BroadBand Tower 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 BroadBand Tower, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Computer Services 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.
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 BroadBand Tower supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, BroadBand Tower is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left BroadBand Tower vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in Computer Services industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at BroadBand Tower has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, BroadBand Tower has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Computer Services industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that BroadBand Tower needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at BroadBand Tower can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as BroadBand Tower is planning to shift buying processes online.
BroadBand Tower Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of BroadBand Tower are -
Buying journey improvements
– BroadBand Tower can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Computer Services industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, BroadBand Tower 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Computer Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. BroadBand Tower can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, BroadBand Tower can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that BroadBand Tower operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Services sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects BroadBand Tower can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for BroadBand Tower 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 BroadBand Tower to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, BroadBand Tower is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. BroadBand Tower can utilize new technology in the field of Computer Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for BroadBand Tower 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.
Loyalty marketing
– BroadBand Tower 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at BroadBand Tower 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 Computer Services industry.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of BroadBand Tower has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Services industry. This can help BroadBand Tower to build a more holistic ecosystem for BroadBand Tower products in the Computer Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help BroadBand Tower 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– BroadBand Tower has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Computer Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled BroadBand Tower to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help BroadBand Tower to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats BroadBand Tower External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of BroadBand Tower are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on BroadBand Tower demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Computer Services industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– BroadBand Tower can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Computer Services industry.
Regulatory challenges
– BroadBand Tower needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Computer Services industry regulations.
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 BroadBand Tower in the Computer Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 BroadBand Tower business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– BroadBand Tower has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, BroadBand Tower needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Services sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Computer Services industry are lowering. It can presents BroadBand Tower with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Computer Services sector.
Increasing wage structure of BroadBand Tower
– 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 BroadBand Tower.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, BroadBand Tower may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Services sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. BroadBand Tower can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– BroadBand Tower high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BroadBand Tower Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at BroadBand Tower 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 BroadBand Tower 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 BroadBand Tower 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 BroadBand Tower 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 BroadBand Tower needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
