Yoshimura Food Holdings KK (2884) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Food Processing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Yoshimura Food Holdings KK (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Yoshimura Food Holdings KK, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK
2. Improving business portfolio management of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Food Processing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK
Strengths of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Food Processing 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Yoshimura Food Holdings KK staying ahead in the Food Processing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Yoshimura Food Holdings KK to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Food Processing industry
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Yoshimura Food Holdings KK to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Food Processing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Yoshimura Food Holdings KK to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is one of the most innovative firm in Food Processing sector.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK in Food Processing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-Cyclical 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is one of the leading players in the Food Processing 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Food Processing industry
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Yoshimura Food Holdings KK does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Yoshimura Food Holdings KK emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Food Processing industry, but Yoshimura Food Holdings KK needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Yoshimura Food Holdings KK to focus more on services in the Food Processing industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Food Processing industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Food Processing industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Yoshimura Food Holdings KK needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Food Processing industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring in Food Processing industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Yoshimura Food Holdings KK to provide better information regarding Food Processing products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Japan, Yoshimura Food Holdings KK needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Food Processing 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Yoshimura Food Holdings KK has high operating costs in the Food Processing industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Yoshimura Food Holdings KK lucrative customers.
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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Yoshimura Food Holdings KK vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Yoshimura Food Holdings KK, in the dynamic environment of Food Processing industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Yoshimura Food Holdings KK has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Yoshimura Food Holdings KK Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Food Processing industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Yoshimura Food Holdings KK in the Food Processing industry. Now Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can develop new processes and procedures in Food Processing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Yoshimura Food Holdings KK in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Food Processing industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Food Processing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Yoshimura Food Holdings KK to increase its market reach. Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Food Processing 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Food Processing industry.
Manufacturing automation
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Food Processing 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Yoshimura Food Holdings KK External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK are -
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.
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. Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Food Processing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Yoshimura Food Holdings KK needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Food Processing 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.
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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK in the Food Processing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Food Processing industry regulations.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Yoshimura Food Holdings KK in Food Processing industry. The Food Processing 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.
Increasing wage structure of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK
– 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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Food Processing industry are lowering. It can presents Yoshimura Food Holdings KK with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Food Processing sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Yoshimura Food Holdings KK is facing in Food Processing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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. Yoshimura Food Holdings KK can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Food Processing industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Food Processing industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Yoshimura Food Holdings KK Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK 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 Yoshimura Food Holdings KK needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.