SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Fuhrmeister Electronics (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Fuhrmeister Electronics is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fuhrmeister Electronics
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Fuhrmeister Electronics can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fuhrmeister Electronics, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Fuhrmeister Electronics
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fuhrmeister Electronics
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Electronic Instr. & Controls sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Fuhrmeister Electronics
Strengths of Fuhrmeister Electronics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fuhrmeister Electronics are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Fuhrmeister Electronics in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Fuhrmeister Electronics has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Fuhrmeister Electronics to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls industry
– Fuhrmeister Electronics has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fuhrmeister Electronics to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fuhrmeister Electronics to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fuhrmeister Electronics has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Organizational Resilience of Fuhrmeister Electronics
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Fuhrmeister Electronics does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Fuhrmeister Electronics emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Fuhrmeister Electronics has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Fuhrmeister Electronics staying ahead in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Fuhrmeister Electronics is one of the most innovative firm in Electronic Instr. & Controls sector.
High brand equity
– Fuhrmeister Electronics has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Fuhrmeister Electronics to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry
– Fuhrmeister Electronics is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses of Fuhrmeister Electronics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fuhrmeister Electronics are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Fuhrmeister Electronics products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Fuhrmeister Electronics 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, Fuhrmeister Electronics is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Fuhrmeister Electronics to provide better information regarding Electronic Instr. & Controls products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics, in the dynamic environment of Electronic Instr. & Controls industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fuhrmeister Electronics has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ less understanding of Fuhrmeister Electronics strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
High dependence on Fuhrmeister Electronics ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Fuhrmeister Electronics still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Fuhrmeister Electronics has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Fuhrmeister Electronics has high operating costs in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Fuhrmeister Electronics lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fuhrmeister Electronics has some of the most successful models in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Fuhrmeister Electronics should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Fuhrmeister Electronics has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry over the last five years. Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Fuhrmeister Electronics is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, but Fuhrmeister Electronics needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Fuhrmeister Electronics to focus more on services in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Fuhrmeister Electronics Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Fuhrmeister Electronics are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fuhrmeister Electronics has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Electronic Instr. & Controls sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Fuhrmeister Electronics to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fuhrmeister Electronics to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Fuhrmeister Electronics in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. Now Fuhrmeister Electronics can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fuhrmeister Electronics has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. This can help Fuhrmeister Electronics to build a more holistic ecosystem for Fuhrmeister Electronics products in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Fuhrmeister Electronics in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics to increase its market reach. Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
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. Fuhrmeister Electronics can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Fuhrmeister Electronics can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Electronic Instr. & Controls 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Fuhrmeister Electronics can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Fuhrmeister Electronics 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. Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Fuhrmeister Electronics External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Fuhrmeister Electronics are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Electronic Instr. & Controls industry are lowering. It can presents Fuhrmeister Electronics with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Electronic Instr. & Controls sector.
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. Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Fuhrmeister Electronics in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. The Electronic Instr. & Controls 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.
Environmental challenges
– Fuhrmeister Electronics 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. Fuhrmeister Electronics can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Electronic Instr. & Controls 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics prominent markets.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Fuhrmeister Electronics 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fuhrmeister Electronics is facing in Electronic Instr. & Controls sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fuhrmeister Electronics has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fuhrmeister Electronics needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Electronic Instr. & Controls sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Increasing wage structure of Fuhrmeister Electronics
– 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics.
Regulatory challenges
– Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fuhrmeister Electronics Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics 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 Fuhrmeister Electronics needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
