Keifuku Electric Railroad (9049) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Railroads
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Keifuku Electric Railroad (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Keifuku Electric Railroad is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Keifuku Electric Railroad
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Keifuku Electric Railroad can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Keifuku Electric Railroad, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Keifuku Electric Railroad
2. Improving business portfolio management of Keifuku Electric Railroad
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Railroads sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Keifuku Electric Railroad
Strengths of Keifuku Electric Railroad | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Keifuku Electric Railroad are -
Digital Transformation in Railroads industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Keifuku Electric Railroad digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Keifuku Electric Railroad 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Keifuku Electric Railroad has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Railroads industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Keifuku Electric Railroad have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Railroads
– Keifuku Electric Railroad is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Railroads industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Keifuku Electric Railroad in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Keifuku Electric Railroad comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Railroads 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
– Keifuku Electric Railroad is present in almost all the verticals within the Railroads industry. This has provided Keifuku Electric Railroad 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.
Learning organization
- Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Keifuku Electric Railroad emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Keifuku Electric Railroad is one of the leading players in the Railroads 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.
Analytics focus
– Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Railroads 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Keifuku Electric Railroad 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Keifuku Electric Railroad in the Transportation sector have low bargaining power. Keifuku Electric Railroad has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Keifuku Electric Railroad to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Keifuku Electric Railroad in Railroads industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Keifuku Electric Railroad has one of the best training and development program in Transportation 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.
Weaknesses of Keifuku Electric Railroad | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Keifuku Electric Railroad are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Keifuku Electric Railroad products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Keifuku Electric Railroad needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Japan, Keifuku Electric Railroad needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Keifuku Electric Railroad needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Railroads industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Keifuku Electric Railroad can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Keifuku Electric Railroad is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Keifuku Electric Railroad is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Railroads industry in last five years.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Keifuku Electric Railroad has some of the most successful models in the Railroads industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Keifuku Electric Railroad should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Keifuku Electric Railroad is just above the Railroads 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Railroads industry, Keifuku Electric Railroad 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.
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 Keifuku Electric Railroad supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Keifuku Electric Railroad is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Keifuku Electric Railroad vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ less understanding of Keifuku Electric Railroad strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Railroads industry, but Keifuku Electric Railroad needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Keifuku Electric Railroad to focus more on services in the Railroads industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Keifuku Electric Railroad is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Keifuku Electric Railroad to provide better information regarding Railroads products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Keifuku Electric Railroad Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Keifuku Electric Railroad are -
Loyalty marketing
– Keifuku Electric Railroad 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
– Keifuku Electric Railroad 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Keifuku Electric Railroad can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Keifuku Electric Railroad can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Keifuku Electric Railroad operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Railroads sector.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Railroads industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Keifuku Electric Railroad in the Railroads industry. Now Keifuku Electric Railroad can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Keifuku Electric Railroad 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Keifuku Electric Railroad has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Railroads sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Keifuku Electric Railroad to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Keifuku Electric Railroad to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Keifuku Electric Railroad can develop new processes and procedures in Railroads 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Railroads industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Keifuku Electric Railroad can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Keifuku Electric Railroad to increase its market reach. Keifuku Electric Railroad 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Railroads industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Keifuku Electric Railroad 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. Keifuku Electric Railroad 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.
Threats Keifuku Electric Railroad External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Keifuku Electric Railroad are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Keifuku Electric Railroad is facing in Railroads sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Keifuku Electric Railroad 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. Keifuku Electric Railroad needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Railroads industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Keifuku Electric Railroad may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Railroads sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Keifuku Electric Railroad in Railroads industry. The Railroads 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad in the Railroads sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Railroads industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Keifuku Electric Railroad 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. Keifuku Electric Railroad can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Railroads industry.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Railroads industry.
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.
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 Keifuku Electric Railroad business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Railroads industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Keifuku Electric Railroad Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad 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 Keifuku Electric Railroad needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
