Sun A. Kaken (4234) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Sun A. Kaken (Japan)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Sun A. Kaken is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sun A. Kaken

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Sun A. Kaken can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sun A. Kaken, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sun A. Kaken 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Sun A. Kaken can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Sun A. Kaken
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sun A. Kaken
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Containers & Packaging sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sun A. Kaken

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Strengths of Sun A. Kaken | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Sun A. Kaken are -

Learning organization

- Sun A. Kaken 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 Sun A. Kaken is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Sun A. Kaken emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Innovation driven organization

– Sun A. Kaken is one of the most innovative firm in Containers & Packaging sector.

Ability to lead change in Containers & Packaging

– Sun A. Kaken is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Containers & Packaging industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Sun A. Kaken in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Sun A. Kaken 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.

Digital Transformation in Containers & Packaging industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sun A. Kaken digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sun A. Kaken 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.

Organizational Resilience of Sun A. Kaken

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Sun A. Kaken does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Containers & Packaging industry

– Sun A. Kaken has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sun A. Kaken to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sun A. Kaken to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Sun A. Kaken has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Sun A. Kaken staying ahead in the Containers & Packaging industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Sun A. Kaken comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Containers & Packaging 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Sun A. Kaken is present in almost all the verticals within the Containers & Packaging industry. This has provided Sun A. Kaken 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.

High brand equity

– Sun A. Kaken has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sun A. Kaken to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Sun A. Kaken in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Sun A. Kaken has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sun A. Kaken to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

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Weaknesses of Sun A. Kaken | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Sun A. Kaken are -

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Sun A. Kaken is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Sun A. Kaken to provide better information regarding Containers & Packaging products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Sun A. Kaken needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Containers & Packaging industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Sun A. Kaken can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sun A. Kaken is planning to shift buying processes online.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Sun A. Kaken has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Containers & Packaging 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 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 Sun A. Kaken supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Sun A. Kaken is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sun A. Kaken vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Sun A. Kaken has some of the most successful models in the Containers & Packaging industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Sun A. Kaken should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Employees’ less understanding of Sun A. Kaken strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Sun A. Kaken 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Sun A. Kaken is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Containers & Packaging industry, but Sun A. Kaken needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sun A. Kaken to focus more on services in the Containers & Packaging industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Sun A. Kaken, in the dynamic environment of Containers & Packaging industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sun A. Kaken has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Sun A. Kaken 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Sun A. Kaken has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Containers & Packaging industry over the last five years. Sun A. Kaken even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

Need for greater diversity

– Sun A. Kaken 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.

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Sun A. Kaken Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Sun A. Kaken are -

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sun A. Kaken can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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 Sun A. Kaken 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sun A. Kaken is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Sun A. Kaken can utilize new technology in the field of Containers & Packaging industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sun A. Kaken in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Containers & Packaging industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Buying journey improvements

– Sun A. Kaken can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Containers & Packaging 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Sun A. Kaken has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Containers & Packaging sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Sun A. Kaken to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sun A. Kaken to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sun A. Kaken 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 Sun A. Kaken to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Sun A. Kaken 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Sun A. Kaken 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 Containers & Packaging industry.

Manufacturing automation

– Sun A. Kaken can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Containers & Packaging 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sun A. Kaken to increase its market reach. Sun A. Kaken 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Sun A. Kaken can develop new processes and procedures in Containers & Packaging 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Sun A. Kaken has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Containers & Packaging industry. This can help Sun A. Kaken to build a more holistic ecosystem for Sun A. Kaken products in the Containers & Packaging industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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Threats Sun A. Kaken External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Sun A. Kaken 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 Sun A. Kaken business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Sun A. Kaken has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Containers & Packaging industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sun A. Kaken needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Containers & Packaging 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.

Increasing wage structure of Sun A. Kaken

– 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 Sun A. Kaken.

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 Sun A. Kaken.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Containers & Packaging industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sun A. Kaken can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Regulatory challenges

– Sun A. Kaken 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 Containers & Packaging 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Sun A. Kaken is facing in Containers & Packaging sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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.

Environmental challenges

– Sun A. Kaken 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. Sun A. Kaken can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sun A. Kaken in Containers & Packaging industry. The Containers & Packaging 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.

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 Sun A. Kaken in the Containers & Packaging sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Sun A. Kaken 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 Containers & Packaging industry.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sun A. Kaken Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Sun A. Kaken 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 Sun A. Kaken 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 Sun A. Kaken 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 Sun A. Kaken 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 Sun A. Kaken needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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