Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg (4635) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg
Strengths of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg are -
Analytics focus
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber 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.
Learning organization
- Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg is one of the leading players in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg staying ahead in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg to provide better information regarding Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Japan, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry using digital technology.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ less understanding of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg, in the dynamic environment of Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has some of the most successful models in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg are -
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry. This can help Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg to build a more holistic ecosystem for Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg products in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can utilize new technology in the field of Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber sector.
Threats Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg are -
Increasing wage structure of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg.
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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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. Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg prominent markets.
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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg is facing in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry are lowering. It can presents Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg in Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber industry. The Chemicals - Plastics & Rubber 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg 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 Tokyo Printing Ink Mfg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.