EA Technique M (EATE) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Water Transportation
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for EA Technique M (Malaysia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , EA Technique M is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that EA Technique M can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the EA Technique M, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which EA Technique M 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 EA Technique M can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of EA Technique M
2. Improving business portfolio management of EA Technique M
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Malaysia
4. Making a Water Transportation sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of EA Technique M
Strengths of EA Technique M | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of EA Technique M are -
Ability to lead change in Water Transportation
– EA Technique M is one of the leading players in the Water Transportation industry in Malaysia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Water Transportation industry in Malaysia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled EA Technique M in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– EA Technique M is one of the most innovative firm in Water Transportation sector.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– EA Technique M has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – EA Technique M staying ahead in the Water Transportation industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of EA Technique M
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing EA Technique M does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of EA Technique M in the Transportation sector have low bargaining power. EA Technique M has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps EA Technique M to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- EA Technique M 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 EA Technique M is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at EA Technique M emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Water Transportation industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For EA Technique M digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. EA Technique M 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.
Training and development
– EA Technique M has one of the best training and development program in Transportation industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– EA Technique M has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled EA Technique M to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that EA Technique M 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– EA Technique M is one of the leading players in the Water Transportation industry in Malaysia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Malaysia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Water Transportation industry
– EA Technique M has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled EA Technique M to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Water Transportation industry. The sustainable margins have also helped EA Technique M to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of EA Technique M | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of EA Technique M are -
Lack of clear differentiation of EA Technique M products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, EA Technique M needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ less understanding of EA Technique M strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of EA Technique M 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at EA Technique M, in the dynamic environment of Water Transportation industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. EA Technique M has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring in Water Transportation industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at EA Technique M 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of EA Technique M is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Water Transportation industry, but EA Technique M needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help EA Technique M to focus more on services in the Water Transportation industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Water Transportation industry, EA Technique M 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that EA Technique M needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Water Transportation industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at EA Technique M can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as EA Technique M is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of EA Technique M, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Water Transportation industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of EA Technique M is just above the Water Transportation 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 dependence on EA Technique M ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of EA Technique M still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Water Transportation industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though EA Technique M has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, EA Technique M 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.
EA Technique M Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of EA Technique M are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, EA Technique M 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 EA Technique M to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for EA Technique M to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for EA Technique M to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, EA Technique M is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. EA Technique M can utilize new technology in the field of Water Transportation industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects EA Technique M can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– EA Technique M can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Water Transportation 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– EA Technique M can develop new processes and procedures in Water Transportation industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
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. EA Technique M can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at EA Technique M 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 Water Transportation industry.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, EA Technique M 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Water Transportation industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. EA Technique M 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. EA Technique M 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for EA Technique M in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Water Transportation industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– EA Technique M 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, EA Technique M can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that EA Technique M operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Water Transportation sector.
Threats EA Technique M External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of EA Technique M are -
Environmental challenges
– EA Technique M 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. EA Technique M can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Water Transportation industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that EA Technique M is facing in Water Transportation sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on EA Technique M 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 Water Transportation industry and other sectors.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Water Transportation industry are lowering. It can presents EA Technique M with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Water Transportation sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– EA Technique M 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.
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 wage structure of EA Technique M
– 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 EA Technique M.
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. EA Technique M needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Water Transportation 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. EA Technique M 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, EA Technique M 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 EA Technique M prominent markets.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of EA Technique M.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– EA Technique M 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 Water Transportation industry.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of EA Technique M Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at EA Technique M 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 EA Technique M 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 EA Technique M 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 EA Technique M 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 EA Technique M needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.