Wilson Learning Worldwide (9610) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Schools
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Wilson Learning Worldwide (Japan)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Wilson Learning Worldwide is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wilson Learning Worldwide
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Wilson Learning Worldwide can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wilson Learning Worldwide, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Wilson Learning Worldwide
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wilson Learning Worldwide
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Japan
4. Making a Schools sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Wilson Learning Worldwide
Strengths of Wilson Learning Worldwide | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wilson Learning Worldwide are -
High brand equity
– Wilson Learning Worldwide has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wilson Learning Worldwide to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Wilson Learning Worldwide has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Wilson Learning Worldwide staying ahead in the Schools industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Wilson Learning Worldwide in Schools industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Schools 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.
Digital Transformation in Schools industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wilson Learning Worldwide digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Organizational Resilience of Wilson Learning Worldwide
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Wilson Learning Worldwide does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Wilson Learning Worldwide emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wilson Learning Worldwide has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Schools industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Wilson Learning Worldwide have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Wilson Learning Worldwide comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Schools industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Schools industry
– Wilson Learning Worldwide has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wilson Learning Worldwide to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Schools industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wilson Learning Worldwide to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Wilson Learning Worldwide is present in almost all the verticals within the Schools industry. This has provided Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wilson Learning Worldwide has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Weaknesses of Wilson Learning Worldwide | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Wilson Learning Worldwide are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Schools industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Japan, Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Schools industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Wilson Learning Worldwide is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Wilson Learning Worldwide to provide better information regarding Schools products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wilson Learning Worldwide has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Schools industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Wilson Learning Worldwide is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Schools industry, but Wilson Learning Worldwide needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Wilson Learning Worldwide to focus more on services in the Schools industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Wilson Learning Worldwide is one of the leading players in the Schools industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Schools industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Wilson Learning Worldwide needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Schools industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Wilson Learning Worldwide can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Wilson Learning Worldwide is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
High dependence on Wilson Learning Worldwide ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Wilson Learning Worldwide still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Schools industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Wilson Learning Worldwide has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Schools industry using digital technology.
Lack of clear differentiation of Wilson Learning Worldwide products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wilson Learning Worldwide needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ less understanding of Wilson Learning Worldwide strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Wilson Learning Worldwide Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Wilson Learning Worldwide are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Wilson Learning Worldwide can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Schools 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Wilson Learning Worldwide can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Schools 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.
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 Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wilson Learning Worldwide can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wilson Learning Worldwide operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Schools sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Schools industry.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Schools industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Wilson Learning Worldwide 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. Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Wilson Learning Worldwide has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Schools industry. This can help Wilson Learning Worldwide to build a more holistic ecosystem for Wilson Learning Worldwide products in the Schools 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Schools 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 Schools industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide to increase its market reach. Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Schools industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Wilson Learning Worldwide in the Schools industry. Now Wilson Learning Worldwide can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Wilson Learning Worldwide External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Wilson Learning Worldwide are -
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 Wilson Learning Worldwide in the Schools sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Schools industry are lowering. It can presents Wilson Learning Worldwide with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Schools sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wilson Learning Worldwide in Schools industry. The Schools 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.
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. Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wilson Learning Worldwide has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Schools industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wilson Learning Worldwide needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Schools 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide 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.
Environmental challenges
– Wilson Learning Worldwide 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. Wilson Learning Worldwide can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Schools industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Schools industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Wilson Learning Worldwide 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. Wilson Learning Worldwide needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Schools industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Schools industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of Wilson Learning Worldwide
– 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wilson Learning Worldwide Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide 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 Wilson Learning Worldwide needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.