SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Kozo Keikaku Engineering (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Kozo Keikaku Engineering is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kozo Keikaku Engineering
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Kozo Keikaku Engineering can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kozo Keikaku Engineering, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Kozo Keikaku Engineering
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kozo Keikaku Engineering
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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering
Strengths of Kozo Keikaku Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kozo Keikaku Engineering are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering is present in almost all the verticals within the Software & Programming industry. This has provided Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Kozo Keikaku Engineering comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Software & Programming 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Software & Programming industry
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Ability to lead change in Software & Programming
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kozo Keikaku Engineering to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Kozo Keikaku Engineering
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Kozo Keikaku Engineering does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Software & Programming industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kozo Keikaku Engineering digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kozo Keikaku Engineering in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Kozo Keikaku Engineering has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kozo Keikaku Engineering to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kozo Keikaku Engineering are -
Need for greater diversity
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Software & Programming industry using digital technology.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kozo Keikaku Engineering products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kozo Keikaku Engineering needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Software & Programming industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Kozo Keikaku Engineering, in the dynamic environment of Software & Programming industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Kozo Keikaku Engineering has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kozo Keikaku Engineering is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Kozo Keikaku Engineering to provide better information regarding Software & Programming products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Software & Programming industry, Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Skills based hiring in Software & Programming industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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. Kozo Keikaku Engineering should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ less understanding of Kozo Keikaku Engineering strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Kozo Keikaku Engineering Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Kozo Keikaku Engineering are -
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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering can develop new processes and procedures in Software & Programming 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Software & Programming 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kozo Keikaku Engineering has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Software & Programming industry. This can help Kozo Keikaku Engineering to build a more holistic ecosystem for Kozo Keikaku Engineering products in the Software & Programming industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Kozo Keikaku Engineering can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Software & Programming industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Kozo Keikaku Engineering can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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. Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kozo Keikaku Engineering to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Kozo Keikaku Engineering External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Kozo Keikaku Engineering are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Kozo Keikaku Engineering needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Software & Programming industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Kozo Keikaku Engineering
– 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kozo Keikaku Engineering is facing in Software & Programming sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Software & Programming industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kozo Keikaku Engineering can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering prominent markets.
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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering in the Software & Programming sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kozo Keikaku Engineering has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Software & Programming industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kozo Keikaku Engineering needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Software & Programming 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kozo Keikaku Engineering Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering 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 Kozo Keikaku Engineering needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.