Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing,
geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the IPS Securex Holdings Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Communications Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd
Strengths of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd are -
Learning organization
- IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at IPS Securex Holdings Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Communications Equipment sector.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Communications Equipment 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Training and development
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communications Equipment industry
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communications Equipment industry. The sustainable margins have also helped IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Communications Equipment
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is one of the leading players in the Communications Equipment industry in Singapore. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Communications Equipment industry in Singapore but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled IPS Securex Holdings Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Communications Equipment industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – IPS Securex Holdings Ltd staying ahead in the Communications Equipment industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is one of the leading players in the Communications Equipment industry in Singapore. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Singapore. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Communications Equipment industry. This has provided IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Weaknesses of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 Communications Equipment industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that IPS Securex Holdings Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Communications Equipment industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has high operating costs in the Communications Equipment industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract IPS Securex Holdings Ltd lucrative customers.
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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left IPS Securex Holdings Ltd vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Communications Equipment industry over the last five years. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communications Equipment industry, but IPS Securex Holdings Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to focus more on services in the Communications Equipment industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Communications Equipment 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is just above the Communications Equipment 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Communications Equipment industry, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to provide better information regarding Communications Equipment products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
IPS Securex Holdings Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that IPS Securex Holdings Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communications Equipment sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can utilize new technology in the field of Communications Equipment industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for IPS Securex Holdings Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communications Equipment industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Communications Equipment industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Communications Equipment industry. This can help IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for IPS Securex Holdings Ltd products in the Communications Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Communications Equipment sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Manufacturing automation
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Communications Equipment 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Communications Equipment industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to increase its market reach. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Loyalty marketing
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats IPS Securex Holdings Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd are -
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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd.
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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd in the Communications Equipment sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communications Equipment sector.
Environmental challenges
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communications Equipment industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for IPS Securex Holdings Ltd in Communications Equipment industry. The Communications Equipment 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that IPS Securex Holdings Ltd is facing in Communications Equipment sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd prominent markets.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 Communications Equipment industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– IPS Securex Holdings Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Communications Equipment industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, IPS Securex Holdings Ltd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Communications Equipment 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of IPS Securex Holdings Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd 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 IPS Securex Holdings Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
