SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Misc. Capital Goods sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha
Strengths of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha are -
Innovation driven organization
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Capital Goods sector.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Learning organization
- Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Capital Goods industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha in Misc. Capital Goods industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management in the Misc. Capital Goods industry
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is present in almost all the verticals within the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This has provided Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha in the Capital Goods sector have low bargaining power. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Capital Goods
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry using digital technology.
Employees’ less understanding of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Capital Goods industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, but Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to focus more on services in the Misc. Capital Goods industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to provide better information regarding Misc. Capital Goods products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Misc. Capital Goods industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Capital Goods industry. This can help Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to build a more holistic ecosystem for Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha products in the Misc. Capital Goods industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Misc. Capital Goods sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Misc. Capital Goods industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Capital Goods sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
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. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. Now Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to increase its market reach. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry.
Threats Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Environmental challenges
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Capital Goods industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha prominent markets.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Capital Goods sector.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Capital Goods industry are lowering. It can presents Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Capital Goods sector.
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. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Capital Goods 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is facing in Misc. Capital Goods sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry and other sectors.
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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.