Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR
Strengths of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Strong track record of project management in the industry
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is one of the leading players in the 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Weaknesses of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR to provide better information regarding 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ less understanding of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has some of the most successful models in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring in industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR are -
Manufacturing automation
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR to build a more holistic ecosystem for Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR in the industry. Now Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR to increase its market reach. Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
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. Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR can improve the customer journey of consumers in the 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Threats Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
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. Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the 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.
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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR in the sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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. Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR prominent markets.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR in industry. The 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR 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 Hellenic Exchanges Athens ADR needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.