POSITIVO INF ON (POSI3) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Computer Hardware
Strategy / 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 – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, etc
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.
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
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 -
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.
Organizational Resilience of POSITIVO INF ON
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing POSITIVO INF ON does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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.
Analytics focus
– POSITIVO INF ON is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Computer Hardware industry. The technology infrastructure of Brazil is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
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.
Strong track record of project management in the Computer Hardware industry
– POSITIVO INF ON is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
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.
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 recruit top talent
– POSITIVO INF ON is one of the leading players in the Computer Hardware industry in Brazil. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Brazil. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
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.
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 -
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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though POSITIVO INF ON has some of the most successful models in the Computer Hardware industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. POSITIVO INF ON should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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.
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 POSITIVO INF ON supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, POSITIVO INF ON is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left POSITIVO INF ON vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, POSITIVO INF ON has high operating costs in the Computer Hardware industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract POSITIVO INF ON lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brazil, POSITIVO INF ON needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, POSITIVO INF ON 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 Computer Hardware industry using digital technology.
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.
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
POSITIVO INF ON has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Computer Hardware industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at POSITIVO INF ON 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 Computer Hardware industry.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Computer Hardware industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. POSITIVO INF ON can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 POSITIVO INF ON 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.
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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Hardware industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. POSITIVO INF ON 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. POSITIVO INF ON 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.
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 -
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.
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.
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 POSITIVO INF ON in the Computer Hardware sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Hardware industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. POSITIVO INF ON can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Computer Hardware industry are lowering. It can presents POSITIVO INF ON with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Computer Hardware sector.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.