Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Cambridge Cognition Holdings is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cambridge Cognition Holdings
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Cambridge Cognition Holdings can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cambridge Cognition Holdings, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Cambridge Cognition Holdings can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Cambridge Cognition Holdings
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cambridge Cognition Holdings
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Medical Equipment & Supplies sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cambridge Cognition Holdings
Strengths of Cambridge Cognition Holdings | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cambridge Cognition Holdings are -
Innovation driven organization
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings is one of the most innovative firm in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Training and development
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings has one of the best training and development program in Healthcare 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Cambridge Cognition Holdings staying ahead in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Cambridge Cognition Holdings have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Medical Equipment & Supplies
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings is one of the leading players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in United Kingdom. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in United Kingdom but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Cambridge Cognition Holdings in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cambridge Cognition Holdings digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Cambridge Cognition Holdings
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Cambridge Cognition Holdings does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cambridge Cognition Holdings has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings is present in almost all the verticals within the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This has provided Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cambridge Cognition Holdings in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cambridge Cognition Holdings to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cambridge Cognition Holdings to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of Cambridge Cognition Holdings | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cambridge Cognition Holdings are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Cambridge Cognition Holdings, in the dynamic environment of Medical Equipment & Supplies industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Cambridge Cognition Holdings has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Cambridge Cognition Holdings needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Cambridge Cognition Holdings can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cambridge Cognition Holdings is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cambridge Cognition Holdings is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Cambridge Cognition Holdings to provide better information regarding Medical Equipment & Supplies products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Cambridge Cognition Holdings has high operating costs in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Cambridge Cognition Holdings lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cambridge Cognition Holdings has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on Cambridge Cognition Holdings ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Cambridge Cognition Holdings still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Cambridge Cognition Holdings has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United Kingdom, Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United Kingdom, Cambridge Cognition Holdings needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cambridge Cognition Holdings products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cambridge Cognition Holdings needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Cambridge Cognition Holdings Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Cambridge Cognition Holdings are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cambridge Cognition Holdings can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cambridge Cognition Holdings operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Cambridge Cognition Holdings to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Cambridge Cognition Holdings to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cambridge Cognition Holdings can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cambridge Cognition Holdings to increase its market reach. Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cambridge Cognition Holdings has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This can help Cambridge Cognition Holdings to build a more holistic ecosystem for Cambridge Cognition Holdings products in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Cambridge Cognition Holdings in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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. Cambridge Cognition Holdings can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Cambridge Cognition Holdings can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Cambridge Cognition Holdings External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Cambridge Cognition Holdings are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of Cambridge Cognition Holdings
– 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 Cambridge Cognition Holdings.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cambridge Cognition Holdings needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Cambridge Cognition Holdings can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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. Cambridge Cognition Holdings can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
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. Cambridge Cognition Holdings needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cambridge Cognition Holdings in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. The Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Cambridge Cognition Holdings may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cambridge Cognition Holdings Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Cambridge Cognition Holdings 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 Cambridge Cognition Holdings needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.