POSITIVO INF ON (POSI3) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for POSITIVO INF ON (Brazil)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , POSITIVO INF ON is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of POSITIVO INF ON

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that POSITIVO INF ON can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the POSITIVO INF ON, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which POSITIVO INF ON 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of POSITIVO INF ON can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of POSITIVO INF ON
2. Improving business portfolio management of POSITIVO INF ON
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Brazil
4. Making a Computer Hardware sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of POSITIVO INF ON

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Strengths of POSITIVO INF ON | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of POSITIVO INF ON are -

Innovation driven organization

– POSITIVO INF ON is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Hardware sector.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– POSITIVO INF ON has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – POSITIVO INF ON staying ahead in the Computer Hardware industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Computer Hardware industry

– POSITIVO INF ON has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled POSITIVO INF ON to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Computer Hardware industry. The sustainable margins have also helped POSITIVO INF ON to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– POSITIVO INF ON has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. POSITIVO INF ON 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– POSITIVO INF ON is present in almost all the verticals within the Computer Hardware industry. This has provided POSITIVO INF ON 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of POSITIVO INF ON in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. POSITIVO INF ON has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps POSITIVO INF ON to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that POSITIVO INF ON 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.

Digital Transformation in Computer Hardware industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For POSITIVO INF ON digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. POSITIVO INF ON 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.

High brand equity

– POSITIVO INF ON has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled POSITIVO INF ON to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Learning organization

- POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at POSITIVO INF ON emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Computer Hardware

– POSITIVO INF ON is one of the leading players in the Computer Hardware industry in Brazil. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Computer Hardware industry in Brazil but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled POSITIVO INF ON in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Highly skilled collaborators

– POSITIVO INF ON has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Computer Hardware industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of POSITIVO INF ON have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

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Weaknesses of POSITIVO INF ON | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of POSITIVO INF ON are -

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As POSITIVO INF ON is one of the leading players in the Computer Hardware industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Hardware industry in last five years.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of POSITIVO INF ON is just above the Computer Hardware 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.

Need for greater diversity

– POSITIVO INF ON 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of POSITIVO INF ON, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Computer Hardware 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, POSITIVO INF ON 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of POSITIVO INF ON products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, POSITIVO INF ON needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

High dependence on POSITIVO INF ON ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of POSITIVO INF ON still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Computer Hardware industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though POSITIVO INF ON has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Employees’ less understanding of POSITIVO INF ON strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of POSITIVO INF ON 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.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Hardware industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Brazil, POSITIVO INF ON 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 Computer Hardware industry.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Computer Hardware industry, POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Hardware industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at POSITIVO INF ON can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as POSITIVO INF ON is planning to shift buying processes online.

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POSITIVO INF ON Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of POSITIVO INF ON are -

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help POSITIVO INF ON to increase its market reach. POSITIVO INF ON 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects POSITIVO INF ON can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Loyalty marketing

– POSITIVO INF ON 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.

Buying journey improvements

– POSITIVO INF ON can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Computer Hardware industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for POSITIVO INF ON 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, POSITIVO INF ON is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. POSITIVO INF ON can utilize new technology in the field of Computer Hardware industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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. POSITIVO INF ON can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, POSITIVO INF ON can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that POSITIVO INF ON operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Hardware sector.

Leveraging digital technologies

– POSITIVO INF ON 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Computer Hardware industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for POSITIVO INF ON in the Computer Hardware industry. Now POSITIVO INF ON can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Manufacturing automation

– POSITIVO INF ON can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Computer Hardware 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of POSITIVO INF ON has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Hardware industry. This can help POSITIVO INF ON to build a more holistic ecosystem for POSITIVO INF ON products in the Computer Hardware industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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Threats POSITIVO INF ON External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of POSITIVO INF ON are -

High dependence on third party suppliers

– POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON in Computer Hardware industry. The Computer Hardware 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on POSITIVO INF ON 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 Computer Hardware industry and other sectors.

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 POSITIVO INF ON business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Regulatory challenges

– POSITIVO INF ON 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 Computer Hardware industry regulations.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that POSITIVO INF ON is facing in Computer Hardware sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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. POSITIVO INF ON needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Hardware industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON prominent markets.

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. POSITIVO INF ON 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 wage structure of POSITIVO INF ON

– 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 POSITIVO INF ON.

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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– POSITIVO INF ON has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Hardware industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, POSITIVO INF ON needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Hardware 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.

Environmental challenges

– POSITIVO INF ON 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. POSITIVO INF ON can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Hardware industry.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of POSITIVO INF ON Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON 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 POSITIVO INF ON needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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