Brady (BRC) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Security Systems & Services
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Brady (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Brady is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Brady can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Brady, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Brady 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 Brady can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Brady
2. Improving business portfolio management of Brady
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Security Systems & Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Brady
Strengths of Brady | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Brady are -
Organizational Resilience of Brady
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Brady does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Brady has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Brady 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
– Brady is one of the leading players in the Security Systems & Services 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Brady comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Security Systems & Services 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.
Analytics focus
– Brady 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 Security Systems & Services 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Brady 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.
Digital Transformation in Security Systems & Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Brady digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Brady 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
– Brady has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Brady in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Brady has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Brady to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Security Systems & Services
– Brady is one of the leading players in the Security Systems & Services industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Security Systems & Services industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Brady in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Security Systems & Services industry
– Brady has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Brady to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Security Systems & Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Brady to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Brady 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.
Weaknesses of Brady | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Brady are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Security Systems & Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Brady 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 Security Systems & Services 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 Brady supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Brady is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Brady vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in Security Systems & Services industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Brady 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Brady 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Brady has some of the most successful models in the Security Systems & Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Brady should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Brady 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 Security Systems & Services industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Brady 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, Brady is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Brady to provide better information regarding Security Systems & Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Brady needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Security Systems & Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Brady can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Brady is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on Brady ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Brady still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Security Systems & Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Brady has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Brady products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Brady needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Brady Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Brady are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Brady 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 Security Systems & Services industry.
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. Brady can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Brady can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Security Systems & Services 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 Security Systems & Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Brady can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Brady 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Brady 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Brady in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Security Systems & Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Brady 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 Brady to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Brady 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Brady can develop new processes and procedures in Security Systems & Services 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Brady can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Security Systems & Services 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Brady can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Brady operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Security Systems & Services sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Brady has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Security Systems & Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Brady to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Brady to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Brady External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Brady are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Brady 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 Brady prominent markets.
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 Brady business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Brady 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.
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 Brady in the Security Systems & Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Brady
– 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 Brady.
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. Brady needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Security Systems & Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Brady 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. Brady can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Security Systems & Services industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Security Systems & Services industry are lowering. It can presents Brady with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Security Systems & Services sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Brady can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Security Systems & Services industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Brady may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Security Systems & Services 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 Brady.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Brady 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 Security Systems & Services industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Brady Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Brady 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 Brady 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 Brady 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 Brady 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 Brady needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.