NTT Data Intramart (3850) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for NTT Data Intramart (Japan)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , NTT Data Intramart is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of NTT Data Intramart

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that NTT Data Intramart can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the NTT Data Intramart, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which NTT Data Intramart 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of NTT Data Intramart can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of NTT Data Intramart
2. Improving business portfolio management of NTT Data Intramart
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Software & Programming sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of NTT Data Intramart

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Strengths of NTT Data Intramart | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of NTT Data Intramart are -

Learning organization

- NTT Data Intramart 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 NTT Data Intramart is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at NTT Data Intramart emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Diverse revenue streams

– NTT Data Intramart is present in almost all the verticals within the Software & Programming industry. This has provided NTT Data Intramart 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– NTT Data Intramart has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. NTT Data Intramart 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.

Ability to lead change in Software & Programming

– NTT Data Intramart is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Software & Programming industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled NTT Data Intramart in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Software & Programming industry

– NTT Data Intramart has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled NTT Data Intramart to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Software & Programming industry. The sustainable margins have also helped NTT Data Intramart to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

Innovation driven organization

– NTT Data Intramart is one of the most innovative firm in Software & Programming sector.

Analytics focus

– NTT Data Intramart 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 Software & Programming 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.

Training and development

– NTT Data Intramart 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 NTT Data Intramart in Software & Programming 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 NTT Data Intramart 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

– NTT Data Intramart has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Software & Programming industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of NTT Data Intramart have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

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Weaknesses of NTT Data Intramart | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of NTT Data Intramart are -

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that NTT Data Intramart needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Software & Programming industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at NTT Data Intramart can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as NTT Data Intramart is planning to shift buying processes online.

Skills based hiring in Software & Programming industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at NTT Data Intramart 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As NTT Data Intramart is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Software & Programming industry in last five years.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Software & Programming industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, NTT Data Intramart 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 Software & Programming industry.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, NTT Data Intramart has high operating costs in the Software & Programming industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract NTT Data Intramart lucrative customers.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, NTT Data Intramart 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 NTT Data Intramart, in the dynamic environment of Software & Programming industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. NTT Data Intramart has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Products dominated business model

– Even though NTT Data Intramart has some of the most successful models in the Software & Programming industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. NTT Data Intramart should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, NTT Data Intramart has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Software & Programming industry over the last five years. NTT Data Intramart 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of NTT Data Intramart is just above the Software & Programming 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of NTT Data Intramart products

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

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NTT Data Intramart Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of NTT Data Intramart are -

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help NTT Data Intramart to increase its market reach. NTT Data Intramart 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, NTT Data Intramart can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that NTT Data Intramart operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Software & Programming sector.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, NTT Data Intramart 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.

Buying journey improvements

– NTT Data Intramart can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Software & Programming 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

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

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

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

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for NTT Data Intramart 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– NTT Data Intramart 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.

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. NTT Data Intramart can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at NTT Data Intramart 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 Software & Programming industry.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Software & Programming industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. NTT Data Intramart 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. NTT Data Intramart 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects NTT Data Intramart can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

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

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Threats NTT Data Intramart External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of NTT Data Intramart are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on NTT Data Intramart 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 Software & Programming industry and other sectors.

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.

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.

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 NTT Data Intramart business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– NTT Data Intramart 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that NTT Data Intramart is facing in Software & Programming sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 NTT Data Intramart in the Software & Programming sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for NTT Data Intramart in Software & Programming industry. The Software & Programming 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

– NTT Data Intramart 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 Software & Programming industry.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, NTT Data Intramart 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 NTT Data Intramart prominent markets.

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 NTT Data Intramart.

Environmental challenges

– NTT Data Intramart 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. NTT Data Intramart can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Software & Programming 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. NTT Data Intramart needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Software & Programming industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of NTT Data Intramart Template, Example

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

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