SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Advanced Packaging Tech (Malaysia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Advanced Packaging Tech is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Advanced Packaging Tech
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Advanced Packaging Tech can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Advanced Packaging Tech, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Advanced Packaging Tech
2. Improving business portfolio management of Advanced Packaging Tech
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Malaysia
4. Making a Containers & Packaging sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Advanced Packaging Tech
Strengths of Advanced Packaging Tech | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Advanced Packaging Tech are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Advanced Packaging Tech has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Advanced Packaging Tech staying ahead in the Containers & Packaging industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Containers & Packaging industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Advanced Packaging Tech digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Advanced Packaging Tech is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging 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.
Organizational Resilience of Advanced Packaging Tech
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Advanced Packaging Tech does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Advanced Packaging Tech has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Containers & Packaging industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Advanced Packaging Tech have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Advanced Packaging Tech emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Containers & Packaging industry
– Advanced Packaging Tech is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Advanced Packaging Tech is one of the most innovative firm in Containers & Packaging sector.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Containers & Packaging industry
– Advanced Packaging Tech has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Advanced Packaging Tech to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Advanced Packaging Tech to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Advanced Packaging Tech is present in almost all the verticals within the Containers & Packaging industry. This has provided Advanced Packaging Tech 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 brand equity
– Advanced Packaging Tech has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Advanced Packaging Tech to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses of Advanced Packaging Tech | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Advanced Packaging Tech are -
Need for greater diversity
– Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Advanced Packaging Tech is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Advanced Packaging Tech vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Advanced Packaging Tech is one of the leading players in the Containers & Packaging industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Containers & Packaging industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Advanced Packaging Tech is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Containers & Packaging industry, but Advanced Packaging Tech needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Advanced Packaging Tech to focus more on services in the Containers & Packaging industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Advanced Packaging Tech has some of the most successful models in the Containers & Packaging industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Advanced Packaging Tech should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Advanced Packaging Tech is just above the Containers & Packaging 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Advanced Packaging Tech strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Advanced Packaging Tech needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Containers & Packaging industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Advanced Packaging Tech can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Advanced Packaging Tech is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Advanced Packaging Tech, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Containers & Packaging 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Advanced Packaging Tech is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Advanced Packaging Tech to provide better information regarding Containers & Packaging products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Advanced Packaging Tech Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Advanced Packaging Tech are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Containers & Packaging industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Advanced Packaging Tech can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Advanced Packaging Tech has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Containers & Packaging sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Advanced Packaging Tech to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Advanced Packaging Tech to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Advanced Packaging Tech to increase its market reach. Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Containers & Packaging industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Advanced Packaging Tech in the Containers & Packaging industry. Now Advanced Packaging Tech can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Advanced Packaging Tech can develop new processes and procedures in Containers & Packaging 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.
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 Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Advanced Packaging Tech in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Containers & Packaging industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Advanced Packaging Tech has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Containers & Packaging industry. This can help Advanced Packaging Tech to build a more holistic ecosystem for Advanced Packaging Tech products in the Containers & Packaging industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Advanced Packaging Tech can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Containers & Packaging industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Advanced Packaging Tech 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. Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Advanced Packaging Tech 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.
Threats Advanced Packaging Tech External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech in the Containers & Packaging sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Advanced Packaging Tech is facing in Containers & Packaging sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Containers & Packaging industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Advanced Packaging Tech can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Advanced Packaging Tech
– 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 Advanced Packaging Tech.
Regulatory challenges
– Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Containers & Packaging industry regulations.
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 Advanced Packaging Tech.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech prominent markets.
Environmental challenges
– Advanced Packaging Tech 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. Advanced Packaging Tech can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Containers & Packaging industry.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Advanced Packaging Tech may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Containers & Packaging sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Advanced Packaging Tech 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. Advanced Packaging Tech needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Containers & Packaging industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Advanced Packaging Tech business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Advanced Packaging Tech Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech 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 Advanced Packaging Tech needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.