Shareroot (SRO) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shareroot (Australia)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shareroot is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shareroot

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shareroot can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shareroot, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shareroot 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 Shareroot can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shareroot
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shareroot
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Australia
4. Making a Software & Programming sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shareroot

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Strengths of Shareroot | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Shareroot are -

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Software & Programming industry

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

High brand equity

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

Ability to lead change in Software & Programming

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

Digital Transformation in Software & Programming industry

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

Training and development

– Shareroot has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Shareroot has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Software & Programming industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Shareroot have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Shareroot 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.

Analytics focus

– Shareroot 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 Software & Programming industry. The technology infrastructure of Australia 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

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

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

Innovation driven organization

– Shareroot is one of the most innovative firm in Software & Programming sector.

Diverse revenue streams

– Shareroot is present in almost all the verticals within the Software & Programming industry. This has provided Shareroot 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.

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Weaknesses of Shareroot | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Shareroot are -

High bargaining power of channel partners in Software & Programming industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Australia, Shareroot 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 Software & Programming industry.

Lack of clear differentiation of Shareroot products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shareroot needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

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

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Shareroot 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 Software & Programming industry using digital technology.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

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

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Shareroot is just above the Software & Programming 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.

Skills based hiring in Software & Programming industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Shareroot 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 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 Shareroot supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Shareroot is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Shareroot vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Need for greater diversity

– Shareroot 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

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

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Shareroot, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Software & Programming 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.

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Shareroot Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Shareroot are -

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Shareroot can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shareroot operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Software & Programming sector.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

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

Loyalty marketing

– Shareroot 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Shareroot 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 Software & Programming industry.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Software & Programming industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Shareroot can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shareroot 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 Shareroot to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Shareroot 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Shareroot can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Software & Programming 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 Shareroot has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Software & Programming industry. This can help Shareroot to build a more holistic ecosystem for Shareroot products in the Software & Programming industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Software & Programming industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shareroot 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. Shareroot 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

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. Shareroot can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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Threats Shareroot External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Shareroot are -

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 Shareroot.

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. Shareroot 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Shareroot high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shareroot 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 Shareroot prominent markets.

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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Shareroot may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Software & Programming sector.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Software & Programming industry are lowering. It can presents Shareroot with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Software & Programming sector.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Shareroot 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 Software & Programming industry.

Increasing wage structure of Shareroot

– 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 Shareroot.

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. Shareroot needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Software & Programming industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Environmental challenges

– Shareroot 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. Shareroot can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Software & Programming industry.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Shareroot is facing in Software & Programming sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Easy access to finance

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

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shareroot Template, Example

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

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