I-Freek Mobile (3845) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for I-Freek Mobile (Japan)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , I-Freek Mobile is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of I-Freek Mobile

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

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Strengths of I-Freek Mobile | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of I-Freek Mobile are -

Learning organization

- I-Freek Mobile 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 I-Freek Mobile is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at I-Freek Mobile emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– I-Freek Mobile has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. I-Freek Mobile has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

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

Ability to recruit top talent

– I-Freek Mobile is one of the leading players in the Computer Services 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.

High brand equity

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

Analytics focus

– I-Freek Mobile 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 Computer Services 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Computer Services industry

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

Strong track record of project management in the Computer Services industry

– I-Freek Mobile is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Diverse revenue streams

– I-Freek Mobile is present in almost all the verticals within the Computer Services industry. This has provided I-Freek Mobile 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

– I-Freek Mobile 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that I-Freek Mobile 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

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Weaknesses of I-Freek Mobile | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of I-Freek Mobile are -

Need for greater diversity

– I-Freek Mobile 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

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

High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Services industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, I-Freek Mobile 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 Computer Services industry.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at I-Freek Mobile, in the dynamic environment of Computer Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. I-Freek Mobile has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

I-Freek Mobile has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Computer Services industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, I-Freek Mobile has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

Products dominated business model

– Even though I-Freek Mobile has some of the most successful models in the Computer Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. I-Freek Mobile should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

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 I-Freek Mobile supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, I-Freek Mobile is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left I-Freek Mobile vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High dependence on I-Freek Mobile ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of I-Freek Mobile still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Computer Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though I-Freek Mobile has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of I-Freek Mobile is just above the Computer Services 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

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

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I-Freek Mobile Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of I-Freek Mobile are -

Manufacturing automation

– I-Freek Mobile can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Computer Services 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.

Buying journey improvements

– I-Freek Mobile can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Computer Services 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

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

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of I-Freek Mobile has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Services industry. This can help I-Freek Mobile to build a more holistic ecosystem for I-Freek Mobile products in the Computer Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for I-Freek Mobile 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.

Loyalty marketing

– I-Freek Mobile 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for I-Freek Mobile in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. I-Freek Mobile 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. I-Freek Mobile 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, I-Freek Mobile 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.

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. I-Freek Mobile can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

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

Using analytics as competitive advantage

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

Increase in government spending

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

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Threats I-Freek Mobile External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of I-Freek Mobile are -

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– I-Freek Mobile has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, I-Freek Mobile needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Services 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for I-Freek Mobile in Computer Services industry. The Computer Services 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.

Increasing wage structure of I-Freek Mobile

– 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 I-Freek Mobile.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, I-Freek Mobile may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Services sector.

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.

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 I-Freek Mobile in the Computer Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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 I-Freek Mobile business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– I-Freek Mobile 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 Computer Services industry.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, I-Freek Mobile 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 I-Freek Mobile prominent markets.

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 I-Freek Mobile.

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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– I-Freek Mobile 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. I-Freek Mobile needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of I-Freek Mobile Template, Example

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

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