DaebongLS (78140) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for DaebongLS (South Korea)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , DaebongLS is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of DaebongLS

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that DaebongLS can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the DaebongLS, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which DaebongLS 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 DaebongLS can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of DaebongLS
2. Improving business portfolio management of DaebongLS
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in South Korea
4. Making a Biotechnology & Drugs sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of DaebongLS

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Strengths of DaebongLS | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of DaebongLS are -

High brand equity

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

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

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

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of DaebongLS in Biotechnology & Drugs industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the DaebongLS are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

Strong track record of project management in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry

– DaebongLS is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Successful track record of launching new products

– DaebongLS has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. DaebongLS 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 DaebongLS in the Healthcare sector have low bargaining power. DaebongLS has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps DaebongLS to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Biotechnology & Drugs industry

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

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that DaebongLS 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of DaebongLS comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Biotechnology & Drugs 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.

Learning organization

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

Diverse revenue streams

– DaebongLS is present in almost all the verticals within the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This has provided DaebongLS 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.

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Weaknesses of DaebongLS | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of DaebongLS are -

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that DaebongLS needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at DaebongLS can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as DaebongLS 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 DaebongLS supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, DaebongLS is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left DaebongLS vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As DaebongLS is one of the leading players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in last five years.

Lack of clear differentiation of DaebongLS products

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

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of South Korea, DaebongLS needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Skills based hiring in Biotechnology & Drugs industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at DaebongLS 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.

Need for greater diversity

– DaebongLS 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, DaebongLS 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though DaebongLS has some of the most successful models in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. DaebongLS should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at DaebongLS, in the dynamic environment of Biotechnology & Drugs industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. DaebongLS has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High dependence on DaebongLS ‘s star products

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

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DaebongLS Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of DaebongLS are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for DaebongLS in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Biotechnology & Drugs industry

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

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– DaebongLS has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Biotechnology & Drugs sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled DaebongLS to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help DaebongLS to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Creating value in data economy

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

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, DaebongLS can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.

Manufacturing automation

– DaebongLS can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Biotechnology & Drugs 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.

Loyalty marketing

– DaebongLS 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, DaebongLS is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. DaebongLS can utilize new technology in the field of Biotechnology & Drugs 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, DaebongLS 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 DaebongLS to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Buying journey improvements

– DaebongLS can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Biotechnology & Drugs 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.

Better consumer reach

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

Developing new processes and practices

– DaebongLS can develop new processes and procedures in Biotechnology & Drugs industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for DaebongLS 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.

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Threats DaebongLS External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of DaebongLS are -

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, DaebongLS 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 DaebongLS prominent markets.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, DaebongLS may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Biotechnology & Drugs sector.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Biotechnology & Drugs industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. DaebongLS can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– DaebongLS 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– DaebongLS 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry.

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 DaebongLS in the Biotechnology & Drugs sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Biotechnology & Drugs industry are lowering. It can presents DaebongLS with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Biotechnology & Drugs sector.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for DaebongLS in Biotechnology & Drugs industry. The Biotechnology & Drugs 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.

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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that DaebongLS is facing in Biotechnology & Drugs 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. DaebongLS needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Consumer confidence and its impact on DaebongLS 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry and other sectors.

Environmental challenges

– DaebongLS 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. DaebongLS can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of DaebongLS Template, Example

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

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