Korea Information Engineering (39740) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Korea Information Engineering (South Korea)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Korea Information Engineering is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Korea Information Engineering

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

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Strengths of Korea Information Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Korea Information Engineering are -

Ability to lead change in Computer Hardware

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

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

Strong track record of project management in the Computer Hardware industry

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

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Korea Information Engineering 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Korea Information Engineering is present in almost all the verticals within the Computer Hardware industry. This has provided Korea Information Engineering 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.

High brand equity

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

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Korea Information Engineering has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Korea Information Engineering 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.

Learning organization

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

Ability to recruit top talent

– Korea Information Engineering is one of the leading players in the Computer Hardware 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Korea Information Engineering in Computer Hardware 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 Korea Information Engineering 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Korea Information Engineering is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Hardware sector.

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Weaknesses of Korea Information Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Korea Information Engineering are -

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Korea Information Engineering, 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Korea Information Engineering 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.

High dependence on Korea Information Engineering ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Korea Information Engineering 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 Korea Information Engineering has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Korea Information Engineering is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Korea Information Engineering to provide better information regarding Computer Hardware products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Hardware industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in South Korea, Korea Information Engineering 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Korea Information Engineering 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Korea Information Engineering 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Computer Hardware industry, Korea Information Engineering 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.

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 Korea Information Engineering supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Korea Information Engineering is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Korea Information Engineering vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Skills based hiring in Computer Hardware industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Korea Information Engineering 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Korea Information Engineering 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 Korea Information Engineering lucrative customers.

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Korea Information Engineering Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Korea Information Engineering are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Korea Information Engineering in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Hardware industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Manufacturing automation

– Korea Information Engineering 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.

Better consumer reach

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

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. Korea Information Engineering 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. Korea Information Engineering 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Korea Information Engineering is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Korea Information Engineering 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Increase in government spending

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

Leveraging digital technologies

– Korea Information Engineering 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Korea Information Engineering 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.

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. Korea Information Engineering can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

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

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 Korea Information Engineering in the Computer Hardware industry. Now Korea Information Engineering 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 Korea Information Engineering has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Hardware industry. This can help Korea Information Engineering to build a more holistic ecosystem for Korea Information Engineering 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 Korea Information Engineering External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Korea Information Engineering are -

Consumer confidence and its impact on Korea Information Engineering 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Korea Information Engineering has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Hardware industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Korea Information Engineering 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.

Shortening product life cycle

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

Regulatory challenges

– Korea Information Engineering 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Korea Information Engineering may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Hardware 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. Korea Information Engineering needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Hardware industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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. Korea Information Engineering 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Korea Information Engineering 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.

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 Korea Information Engineering 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. Korea Information Engineering can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 Korea Information Engineering.

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 Korea Information Engineering business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Korea Information Engineering Template, Example

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

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