American Shared Hospital Srvcs (AMS) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Medical Equipment & Supplies
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for American Shared Hospital Srvcs (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , American Shared Hospital Srvcs is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of American Shared Hospital Srvcs
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that American Shared Hospital Srvcs can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the American Shared Hospital Srvcs, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of American Shared Hospital Srvcs
2. Improving business portfolio management of American Shared Hospital Srvcs
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Medical Equipment & Supplies sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of American Shared Hospital Srvcs
Strengths of American Shared Hospital Srvcs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of American Shared Hospital Srvcs are -
Organizational Resilience of American Shared Hospital Srvcs
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing American Shared Hospital Srvcs does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – American Shared Hospital Srvcs staying ahead in the Medical Equipment & Supplies 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled American Shared Hospital Srvcs to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. The sustainable margins have also helped American Shared Hospital Srvcs to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs has one of the best training and development program in Healthcare industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs is one of the leading players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For American Shared Hospital Srvcs digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled American Shared Hospital Srvcs to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of American Shared Hospital Srvcs have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. The technology infrastructure of United States 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.
Innovation driven organization
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs is one of the most innovative firm in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Strong track record of project management in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses of American Shared Hospital Srvcs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of American Shared Hospital Srvcs are -
Skills based hiring in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
American Shared Hospital Srvcs has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of American Shared Hospital Srvcs is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, but American Shared Hospital Srvcs needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help American Shared Hospital Srvcs to focus more on services in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on American Shared Hospital Srvcs ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of American Shared Hospital Srvcs still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though American Shared Hospital Srvcs has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of American Shared Hospital Srvcs is just above the Medical Equipment & Supplies 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
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, American Shared Hospital Srvcs is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left American Shared Hospital Srvcs vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of American Shared Hospital Srvcs products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, American Shared Hospital Srvcs needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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.
American Shared Hospital Srvcs Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of American Shared Hospital Srvcs are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, American Shared Hospital Srvcs can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that American Shared Hospital Srvcs operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help American Shared Hospital Srvcs to increase its market reach. American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for American Shared Hospital Srvcs in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs can develop new processes and procedures in Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects American Shared Hospital Srvcs can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled American Shared Hospital Srvcs to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help American Shared Hospital Srvcs to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Manufacturing automation
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for American Shared Hospital Srvcs in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. Now American Shared Hospital Srvcs can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, American Shared Hospital Srvcs is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. American Shared Hospital Srvcs can utilize new technology in the field of Medical Equipment & Supplies industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats American Shared Hospital Srvcs External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of American Shared Hospital Srvcs are -
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. American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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.
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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs is facing in Medical Equipment & Supplies 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. American Shared Hospital Srvcs needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs in the Medical Equipment & Supplies sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs prominent markets.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, American Shared Hospital Srvcs may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Regulatory challenges
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of American Shared Hospital Srvcs
– 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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.
Environmental challenges
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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. American Shared Hospital Srvcs can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– American Shared Hospital Srvcs has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, American Shared Hospital Srvcs needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of American Shared Hospital Srvcs Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs 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 American Shared Hospital Srvcs needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.