Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Guardian 8 Hldgs is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Guardian 8 Hldgs, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Guardian 8 Hldgs
2. Improving business portfolio management of Guardian 8 Hldgs
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 Guardian 8 Hldgs
Strengths of Guardian 8 Hldgs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Guardian 8 Hldgs are -
Training and development
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Guardian 8 Hldgs has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Security Systems & Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Guardian 8 Hldgs have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Security Systems & Services industry
– Guardian 8 Hldgs is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Guardian 8 Hldgs has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Guardian 8 Hldgs staying ahead in the Security Systems & Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Guardian 8 Hldgs is one of the most innovative firm in Security Systems & Services sector.
Organizational Resilience of Guardian 8 Hldgs
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Guardian 8 Hldgs does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Guardian 8 Hldgs in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Guardian 8 Hldgs has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Guardian 8 Hldgs to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Security Systems & Services
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Guardian 8 Hldgs in Security Systems & Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Guardian 8 Hldgs are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Guardian 8 Hldgs needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Guardian 8 Hldgs has high operating costs in the Security Systems & Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Guardian 8 Hldgs lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Guardian 8 Hldgs is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Security Systems & Services industry, but Guardian 8 Hldgs needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Guardian 8 Hldgs to focus more on services in the Security Systems & Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Guardian 8 Hldgs has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Security Systems & Services industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Guardian 8 Hldgs is just above the Security Systems & Services 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Security Systems & Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Guardian 8 Hldgs 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. Guardian 8 Hldgs should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Guardian 8 Hldgs is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Guardian 8 Hldgs, in the dynamic environment of Security Systems & Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Guardian 8 Hldgs has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Guardian 8 Hldgs is one of the leading players in the Security Systems & Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Security Systems & Services industry in last five years.
Guardian 8 Hldgs Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Guardian 8 Hldgs are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Guardian 8 Hldgs can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Guardian 8 Hldgs operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Security Systems & Services sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Guardian 8 Hldgs to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Security Systems & Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Guardian 8 Hldgs 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. Guardian 8 Hldgs can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Guardian 8 Hldgs is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Guardian 8 Hldgs can utilize new technology in the field of Security Systems & Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Guardian 8 Hldgs to increase its market reach. Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Guardian 8 Hldgs has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Security Systems & Services industry. This can help Guardian 8 Hldgs to build a more holistic ecosystem for Guardian 8 Hldgs products in the Security Systems & Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Guardian 8 Hldgs External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Guardian 8 Hldgs are -
Environmental challenges
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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. Guardian 8 Hldgs can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Security Systems & Services industry.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Security Systems & Services industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Guardian 8 Hldgs is facing in Security Systems & Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Guardian 8 Hldgs has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Security Systems & Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Guardian 8 Hldgs needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Security Systems & Services 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.
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 Guardian 8 Hldgs.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Security Systems & Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Guardian 8 Hldgs can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Guardian 8 Hldgs
– 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
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 Guardian 8 Hldgs in the Security Systems & Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Security Systems & Services industry are lowering. It can presents Guardian 8 Hldgs 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.
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. Guardian 8 Hldgs needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Security Systems & Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Guardian 8 Hldgs Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs 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 Guardian 8 Hldgs needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
