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 – geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
wage bills are increasing, 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 -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha staying ahead in the Misc. Capital Goods 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
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.
Analytics focus
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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 Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Capital Goods 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.
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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Capital Goods industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has high operating costs in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in last five years.
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.
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.
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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Japan, Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Misc. Capital Goods industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Misc. Capital Goods 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.
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.
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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Misc. Capital Goods 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.
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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 -
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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha 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. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha in the Misc. Capital Goods sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha in Misc. Capital Goods industry. The Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Misc. Capital Goods industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kyokuto Boeki Kaisha can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
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 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.
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.
