SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Viatron Technologies (South Korea)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Viatron Technologies is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Viatron Technologies
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Viatron Technologies can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Viatron Technologies, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Viatron Technologies
2. Improving business portfolio management of Viatron Technologies
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in South Korea
4. Making a Semiconductors sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Viatron Technologies
Strengths of Viatron Technologies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Viatron Technologies are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Viatron Technologies has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Viatron Technologies 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Viatron Technologies in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Viatron Technologies has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Viatron Technologies to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Semiconductors industry
– Viatron Technologies has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Viatron Technologies to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Semiconductors industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Viatron Technologies to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Viatron Technologies is one of the leading players in the Semiconductors industry in South Korea. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in South Korea. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Viatron Technologies is one of the most innovative firm in Semiconductors sector.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Viatron Technologies has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Viatron Technologies staying ahead in the Semiconductors industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Semiconductors
– Viatron Technologies is one of the leading players in the Semiconductors industry in South Korea. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Semiconductors industry in South Korea but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Viatron Technologies in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Viatron Technologies 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.
Organizational Resilience of Viatron Technologies
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Viatron Technologies does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Viatron Technologies emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Viatron Technologies has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Viatron Technologies to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management in the Semiconductors industry
– Viatron Technologies is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses of Viatron Technologies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Viatron Technologies are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Semiconductors industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in South Korea, Viatron Technologies 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 Semiconductors industry.
Employees’ less understanding of Viatron Technologies strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Viatron Technologies 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Viatron Technologies products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Viatron Technologies needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Viatron Technologies, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Semiconductors 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Viatron Technologies is one of the leading players in the Semiconductors industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Semiconductors industry in last five years.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Semiconductors industry, Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Semiconductors industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Viatron Technologies can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Viatron Technologies is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Viatron Technologies supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Viatron Technologies is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Viatron Technologies vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Viatron Technologies 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of South Korea, Viatron Technologies needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring in Semiconductors industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Viatron Technologies 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.
Viatron Technologies Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Viatron Technologies are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Viatron Technologies is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Viatron Technologies can utilize new technology in the field of Semiconductors industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Viatron Technologies can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Viatron Technologies operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Semiconductors sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Viatron Technologies 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 Semiconductors industry.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Semiconductors industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Viatron Technologies 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. Viatron Technologies 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Viatron Technologies has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Viatron Technologies 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Semiconductors industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Viatron Technologies in the Semiconductors industry. Now Viatron Technologies can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Viatron Technologies has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Semiconductors industry. This can help Viatron Technologies to build a more holistic ecosystem for Viatron Technologies products in the Semiconductors industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Viatron Technologies to increase its market reach. Viatron Technologies 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.
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. Viatron Technologies can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Viatron Technologies can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Semiconductors 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Viatron Technologies External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Viatron Technologies are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Viatron Technologies is facing in Semiconductors sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies prominent markets.
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.
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 Viatron Technologies in the Semiconductors sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Semiconductors industry are lowering. It can presents Viatron Technologies with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Semiconductors sector.
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. Viatron Technologies needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Semiconductors industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Viatron Technologies in Semiconductors industry. The Semiconductors 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.
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 Viatron Technologies business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Viatron Technologies.
Increasing wage structure of Viatron Technologies
– 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 Viatron Technologies.
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. Viatron Technologies 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
– Viatron Technologies 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 Semiconductors industry regulations.
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 Viatron Technologies Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies 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 Viatron Technologies needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.