SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Nishikawa Keisoku (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Nishikawa Keisoku is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nishikawa Keisoku
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Nishikawa Keisoku can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nishikawa Keisoku, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Nishikawa Keisoku
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nishikawa Keisoku
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 Nishikawa Keisoku
Strengths of Nishikawa Keisoku | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nishikawa Keisoku are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– Nishikawa Keisoku has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nishikawa Keisoku to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nishikawa Keisoku to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nishikawa Keisoku is present in almost all the verticals within the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This has provided Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nishikawa Keisoku in the Capital Goods sector have low bargaining power. Nishikawa Keisoku has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nishikawa Keisoku to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Analytics focus
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nishikawa Keisoku is one of the leading players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Ability to lead change in Constr. & Agric. Machinery
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nishikawa Keisoku has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nishikawa Keisoku 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
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Nishikawa Keisoku has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Digital Transformation in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nishikawa Keisoku digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Weaknesses of Nishikawa Keisoku | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nishikawa Keisoku are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry, Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Skills based hiring in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
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 Nishikawa Keisoku supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Nishikawa Keisoku is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Nishikawa Keisoku vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Nishikawa Keisoku 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. Nishikawa Keisoku should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Nishikawa Keisoku, in the dynamic environment of Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nishikawa Keisoku has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Nishikawa Keisoku, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Nishikawa Keisoku has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Need for greater diversity
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Nishikawa Keisoku products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nishikawa Keisoku needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Nishikawa Keisoku Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Nishikawa Keisoku are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Nishikawa Keisoku can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nishikawa Keisoku can develop new processes and procedures in Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nishikawa Keisoku to increase its market reach. Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Nishikawa Keisoku can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nishikawa Keisoku has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This can help Nishikawa Keisoku to build a more holistic ecosystem for Nishikawa Keisoku products in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Nishikawa Keisoku can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nishikawa Keisoku can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nishikawa Keisoku operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
Threats Nishikawa Keisoku External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Nishikawa Keisoku are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry are lowering. It can presents Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nishikawa Keisoku in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. The Constr. & Agric. Machinery 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.
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.
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 Nishikawa Keisoku.
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. Nishikawa Keisoku needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Nishikawa Keisoku can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Nishikawa Keisoku has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nishikawa Keisoku is facing in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku prominent markets.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Nishikawa Keisoku 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.
Environmental challenges
– Nishikawa Keisoku 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. Nishikawa Keisoku can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nishikawa Keisoku Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku 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 Nishikawa Keisoku needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
