Astronics Corp Cl B (ATROB) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Astronics Corp Cl B (United States)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Astronics Corp Cl B is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Astronics Corp Cl B

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

---

Strengths of Astronics Corp Cl B | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Astronics Corp Cl B are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

Successful track record of launching new products

– Astronics Corp Cl B has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Astronics Corp Cl B in Aerospace & Defense industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Learning organization

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

Diverse revenue streams

– Astronics Corp Cl B is present in almost all the verticals within the Aerospace & Defense industry. This has provided Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Organizational Resilience of Astronics Corp Cl B

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Astronics Corp Cl B does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

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

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Analytics focus

– Astronics Corp Cl B 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 Aerospace & Defense 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.

Digital Transformation in Aerospace & Defense industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Astronics Corp Cl B digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Training and development

– Astronics Corp Cl B has one of the best training and development program in Capital Goods 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Astronics Corp Cl B comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Aerospace & Defense 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.

---

---

Weaknesses of Astronics Corp Cl B | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Astronics Corp Cl B are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of United States, Astronics Corp Cl B needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Astronics Corp Cl B is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Aerospace & Defense industry, but Astronics Corp Cl B needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Astronics Corp Cl B to focus more on services in the Aerospace & Defense industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Ability to respond to the competition

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

Need for greater diversity

– Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Astronics Corp Cl B is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Astronics Corp Cl B to provide better information regarding Aerospace & Defense products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

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

Lack of clear differentiation of Astronics Corp Cl B products

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

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Aerospace & Defense industry, Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Astronics Corp Cl B, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Aerospace & Defense 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Astronics Corp Cl B needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Aerospace & Defense industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Astronics Corp Cl B can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Astronics Corp Cl B is planning to shift buying processes online.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Aerospace & Defense industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Astronics Corp Cl B 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 Aerospace & Defense industry.

---

Astronics Corp Cl B Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Astronics Corp Cl B are -

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Astronics Corp Cl B to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Astronics Corp Cl B to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Lowering marketing communication costs

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

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Astronics Corp Cl B is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Astronics Corp Cl B can utilize new technology in the field of Aerospace & Defense industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Astronics Corp Cl B 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 Aerospace & Defense industry.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Loyalty marketing

– Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

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 Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Astronics Corp Cl B can develop new processes and procedures in Aerospace & Defense 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.

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. Astronics Corp Cl B can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Buying journey improvements

– Astronics Corp Cl B can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Aerospace & Defense 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Aerospace & Defense industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Astronics Corp Cl B can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Creating value in data economy

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

---

Threats Astronics Corp Cl B External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Learning curve for new practices

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

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 Astronics Corp Cl B.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Astronics Corp Cl B 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 Aerospace & Defense industry and other sectors.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Astronics Corp Cl B is facing in Aerospace & Defense 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Astronics Corp Cl B has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Aerospace & Defense industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Astronics Corp Cl B needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Aerospace & Defense 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.

Easy access to finance

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

Environmental challenges

– Astronics Corp Cl B 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. Astronics Corp Cl B can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Aerospace & Defense industry.

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. Astronics Corp Cl B needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Aerospace & Defense 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. Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Astronics Corp Cl B Template, Example

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

--- ---