SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Okada Aiyonrp (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Okada Aiyonrp is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Okada Aiyonrp can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Okada Aiyonrp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Okada Aiyonrp 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 Okada Aiyonrp can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Okada Aiyonrp
2. Improving business portfolio management of Okada Aiyonrp
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Okada Aiyonrp
Strengths of Okada Aiyonrp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Okada Aiyonrp are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Okada Aiyonrp 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery
– Okada Aiyonrp is one of the leading players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Okada Aiyonrp in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Okada Aiyonrp
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Okada Aiyonrp does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– Okada Aiyonrp has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Okada Aiyonrp to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Okada Aiyonrp to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Okada Aiyonrp 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Okada Aiyonrp in the Capital Goods sector have low bargaining power. Okada Aiyonrp has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Okada Aiyonrp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Okada Aiyonrp has one of the best training and development program in Capital Goods 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Okada Aiyonrp is one of the most innovative firm in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Strong track record of project management in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– Okada Aiyonrp is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Okada Aiyonrp 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 Okada Aiyonrp is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Okada Aiyonrp emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Okada Aiyonrp has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Okada Aiyonrp staying ahead in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Okada Aiyonrp has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Okada Aiyonrp have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of Okada Aiyonrp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Okada Aiyonrp are -
Skills based hiring in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Okada Aiyonrp 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Okada Aiyonrp 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.
High dependence on Okada Aiyonrp ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Okada Aiyonrp still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Okada Aiyonrp has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Okada Aiyonrp has some of the most successful models in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Okada Aiyonrp should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ less understanding of Okada Aiyonrp strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Okada Aiyonrp 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Okada Aiyonrp is just above the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Okada Aiyonrp 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry using digital technology.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Okada Aiyonrp, in the dynamic environment of Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Okada Aiyonrp has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Okada Aiyonrp supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Okada Aiyonrp is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Okada Aiyonrp vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Okada Aiyonrp is one of the leading players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry in last five years.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Okada Aiyonrp has high operating costs in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Okada Aiyonrp lucrative customers.
Okada Aiyonrp Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Okada Aiyonrp are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Okada Aiyonrp 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 Okada Aiyonrp to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Okada Aiyonrp has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This can help Okada Aiyonrp to build a more holistic ecosystem for Okada Aiyonrp products in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Okada Aiyonrp is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Okada Aiyonrp can utilize new technology in the field of Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Okada Aiyonrp 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Okada Aiyonrp can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Okada Aiyonrp 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Okada Aiyonrp 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Okada Aiyonrp 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Okada Aiyonrp 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. Okada Aiyonrp 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Okada Aiyonrp 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Okada Aiyonrp can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Okada Aiyonrp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Okada Aiyonrp in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Okada Aiyonrp External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Okada Aiyonrp are -
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Okada Aiyonrp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Okada Aiyonrp has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Okada Aiyonrp needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Okada Aiyonrp 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry.
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 Okada Aiyonrp.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Okada Aiyonrp may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
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 Okada Aiyonrp 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry are lowering. It can presents Okada Aiyonrp with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Increasing wage structure of Okada Aiyonrp
– 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 Okada Aiyonrp.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Okada Aiyonrp 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry and other sectors.
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. Okada Aiyonrp 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Okada Aiyonrp 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 Okada Aiyonrp is facing in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Okada Aiyonrp Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Okada Aiyonrp 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 Okada Aiyonrp 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 Okada Aiyonrp 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 Okada Aiyonrp 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 Okada Aiyonrp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.