SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shirai Electronics Industrial (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shirai Electronics Industrial is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shirai Electronics Industrial
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shirai Electronics Industrial can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shirai Electronics Industrial, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shirai Electronics Industrial
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shirai Electronics Industrial
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Semiconductors sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shirai Electronics Industrial
Strengths of Shirai Electronics Industrial | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shirai Electronics Industrial are -
Organizational Resilience of Shirai Electronics Industrial
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Shirai Electronics Industrial does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management in the Semiconductors industry
– Shirai Electronics Industrial is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shirai Electronics Industrial is one of the leading players in the Semiconductors 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shirai Electronics Industrial in Semiconductors industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Semiconductors industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shirai Electronics Industrial digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Shirai Electronics Industrial is present in almost all the verticals within the Semiconductors industry. This has provided Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
Training and development
– Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Shirai Electronics Industrial is one of the most innovative firm in Semiconductors sector.
Ability to lead change in Semiconductors
– Shirai Electronics Industrial is one of the leading players in the Semiconductors industry in Japan. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Semiconductors industry in Japan but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Shirai Electronics Industrial in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Shirai Electronics Industrial emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Shirai Electronics Industrial in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Shirai Electronics Industrial has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shirai Electronics Industrial to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of Shirai Electronics Industrial | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shirai Electronics Industrial are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Shirai Electronics Industrial is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Semiconductors industry, but Shirai Electronics Industrial needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shirai Electronics Industrial to focus more on services in the Semiconductors industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on Shirai Electronics Industrial ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Shirai Electronics Industrial still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Semiconductors industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Shirai Electronics Industrial has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Shirai Electronics Industrial products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shirai Electronics Industrial needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Shirai Electronics Industrial supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Shirai Electronics Industrial is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Shirai Electronics Industrial vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Shirai Electronics Industrial, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Semiconductors 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Shirai Electronics Industrial strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial, in the dynamic environment of Semiconductors industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Shirai Electronics Industrial has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Shirai Electronics Industrial has high operating costs in the Semiconductors industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Shirai Electronics Industrial lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Shirai Electronics Industrial has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Semiconductors industry over the last five years. Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Shirai Electronics Industrial needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Semiconductors industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Shirai Electronics Industrial can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Shirai Electronics Industrial is planning to shift buying processes online.
Shirai Electronics Industrial Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shirai Electronics Industrial are -
Buying journey improvements
– Shirai Electronics Industrial can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Semiconductors 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Shirai Electronics Industrial can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shirai Electronics Industrial operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Semiconductors sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shirai Electronics Industrial can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Shirai Electronics Industrial can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Semiconductors 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
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 Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
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. Shirai Electronics Industrial can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Shirai Electronics Industrial to increase its market reach. Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shirai Electronics Industrial 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Semiconductors industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Shirai Electronics Industrial can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Semiconductors industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Shirai Electronics Industrial in the Semiconductors industry. Now Shirai Electronics Industrial can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shirai Electronics Industrial has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Semiconductors sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Shirai Electronics Industrial to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shirai Electronics Industrial to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Shirai Electronics Industrial External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shirai Electronics Industrial are -
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Semiconductors industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shirai Electronics Industrial can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Semiconductors industry and other sectors.
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 Shirai Electronics Industrial in the Semiconductors sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Semiconductors industry.
Increasing wage structure of Shirai Electronics Industrial
– 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial prominent markets.
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. Shirai Electronics Industrial needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Semiconductors industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shirai Electronics Industrial in Semiconductors industry. The Semiconductors 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Semiconductors industry regulations.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Shirai Electronics Industrial business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shirai Electronics Industrial has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Semiconductors industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shirai Electronics Industrial needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Semiconductors 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shirai Electronics Industrial Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial 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 Shirai Electronics Industrial needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
