SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Maeda Seisakusho (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Maeda Seisakusho is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Maeda Seisakusho can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Maeda Seisakusho, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Maeda Seisakusho
2. Improving business portfolio management of Maeda Seisakusho
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 Maeda Seisakusho
Strengths of Maeda Seisakusho | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Maeda Seisakusho are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Maeda Seisakusho has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Maeda Seisakusho to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Maeda Seisakusho is one of the most innovative firm in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Maeda Seisakusho has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Maeda Seisakusho has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– Maeda Seisakusho 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 Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Maeda Seisakusho digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Ability to lead change in Constr. & Agric. Machinery
– Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Weaknesses of Maeda Seisakusho | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Maeda Seisakusho are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Maeda Seisakusho is just above the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Maeda Seisakusho needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Maeda Seisakusho can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Maeda Seisakusho is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Maeda Seisakusho 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Maeda Seisakusho 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Maeda Seisakusho, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Maeda Seisakusho 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. Maeda Seisakusho should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Skills based hiring in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Maeda Seisakusho still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Maeda Seisakusho has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Maeda Seisakusho Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Maeda Seisakusho are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Maeda Seisakusho 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.
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 Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Maeda Seisakusho to increase its market reach. Maeda Seisakusho 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.
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. Maeda Seisakusho can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Maeda Seisakusho can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Maeda Seisakusho has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This can help Maeda Seisakusho to build a more holistic ecosystem for Maeda Seisakusho products in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Maeda Seisakusho in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. Now Maeda Seisakusho can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Maeda Seisakusho can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Maeda Seisakusho has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Maeda Seisakusho to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Maeda Seisakusho to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Maeda Seisakusho External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Maeda Seisakusho are -
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. Maeda Seisakusho 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Maeda Seisakusho 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.
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 Maeda Seisakusho business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Maeda Seisakusho in the Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Maeda Seisakusho is facing in Constr. & Agric. Machinery sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry are lowering. It can presents Maeda Seisakusho 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Maeda Seisakusho 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Maeda Seisakusho 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.
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. Maeda Seisakusho needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Constr. & Agric. Machinery industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Maeda Seisakusho can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Maeda Seisakusho.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Maeda Seisakusho Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho 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 Maeda Seisakusho needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.