Safran (0IU8) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Safran (United Kingdom)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Safran is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Safran

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

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

The strengths of Safran are -

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

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

Successful track record of launching new products

– Safran has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Safran 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Safran is present in almost all the verticals within the Aerospace & Defense industry. This has provided Safran 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Safran 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Safran is one of the most innovative firm in Aerospace & Defense sector.

Learning organization

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

Highly skilled collaborators

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

Ability to lead change in Aerospace & Defense

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

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Safran 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Safran comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Aerospace & Defense 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Safran is one of the leading players in the Aerospace & Defense industry in United Kingdom. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United Kingdom. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Training and development

– Safran has one of the best training and development program in Capital Goods 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.

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

The weaknesses of Safran are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Safran has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Aerospace & Defense industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Ability to respond to the competition

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

Interest costs

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

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Safran has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Aerospace & Defense industry over the last five years. Safran 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.

Skills based hiring in Aerospace & Defense industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Safran has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Safran is just above the Aerospace & Defense 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Safran has high operating costs in the Aerospace & Defense industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Safran lucrative customers.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Safran 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 Aerospace & Defense industry using digital technology.

Products dominated business model

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

Need for greater diversity

– Safran 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.

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

The opportunities of Safran are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Safran has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Aerospace & Defense industry. This can help Safran to build a more holistic ecosystem for Safran products in the Aerospace & Defense 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 Safran in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Aerospace & Defense industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Manufacturing automation

– Safran can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Aerospace & Defense 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

– Safran 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

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

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 Safran 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Safran to increase its market reach. Safran 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Safran can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Aerospace & Defense 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Aerospace & Defense industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Safran in the Aerospace & Defense industry. Now Safran can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

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

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

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

Increase in government spending

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

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Safran 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 Aerospace & Defense industry.

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

The threats of Safran are -

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. Safran needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Aerospace & Defense industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Safran has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Aerospace & Defense industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Safran needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Aerospace & Defense 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, Safran 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 Safran prominent markets.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Safran 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.

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 Safran business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Safran 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 Aerospace & Defense industry.

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 Safran.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Safran 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 Aerospace & Defense industry and other sectors.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

Shortening product life cycle

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

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Safran in Aerospace & Defense industry. The Aerospace & Defense 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 Safran

– 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 Safran.

Learning curve for new practices

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

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Safran Template, Example

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

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