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, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc

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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.

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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

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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 -

Strong track record of project management in the Aerospace & Defense industry

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

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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Aerospace & Defense industry

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

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.

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.

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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Astronics Corp Cl B has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Aerospace & Defense industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Astronics Corp Cl B have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Astronics Corp Cl B is one of the leading players in the Aerospace & Defense 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.

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.

Innovation driven organization

– Astronics Corp Cl B is one of the most innovative firm in Aerospace & Defense sector.

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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 -

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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

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.

Skills based hiring in Aerospace & Defense industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Astronics Corp Cl B has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Aerospace & Defense industry using digital technology.

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.

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.

Employees’ less understanding of Astronics Corp Cl B strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Astronics Corp Cl B don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Astronics Corp Cl B is just above the Aerospace & Defense 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.

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.

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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 -

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.

Manufacturing automation

– Astronics Corp Cl B can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Aerospace & Defense 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.

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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Aerospace & Defense industry

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

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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Astronics Corp Cl B 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 Astronics Corp Cl B to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Astronics Corp Cl B to increase its market reach. Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

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.

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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Aerospace & Defense industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Astronics Corp Cl B 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. Astronics Corp Cl B 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.

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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 -

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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Astronics Corp Cl B in Aerospace & Defense industry. The Aerospace & Defense 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.

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 Astronics Corp Cl B business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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.

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 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Astronics Corp Cl B 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 Astronics Corp Cl B prominent markets.

Regulatory challenges

– Astronics Corp Cl B 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 Aerospace & Defense industry regulations.

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.

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.

Increasing wage structure of Astronics Corp Cl B

– 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 Astronics Corp Cl B.

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 Astronics Corp Cl B in the Aerospace & Defense sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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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.

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