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LSC Communications (LKSD) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for LSC Communications (United States)


Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , LSC Communications is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of LSC Communications


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




Strengths of LSC Communications | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of LSC Communications are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– LSC Communications is one of the leading players in the Printing 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.

Organizational Resilience of LSC Communications

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing LSC Communications 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 LSC Communications in the Services sector have low bargaining power. LSC Communications has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps LSC Communications to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Digital Transformation in Printing Services industry

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

Innovation driven organization

– LSC Communications is one of the most innovative firm in Printing Services sector.

Successful track record of launching new products

– LSC Communications has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. LSC Communications 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Printing Services industry

– LSC Communications has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled LSC Communications to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Printing Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped LSC Communications to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Training and development

– LSC Communications 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that LSC Communications 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.

Ability to lead change in Printing Services

– LSC Communications is one of the leading players in the Printing Services industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Printing Services industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled LSC Communications in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Learning organization

- LSC Communications 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 LSC Communications is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at LSC Communications emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Diverse revenue streams

– LSC Communications is present in almost all the verticals within the Printing Services industry. This has provided LSC Communications 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.






Weaknesses of LSC Communications | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of LSC Communications are -

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that LSC Communications needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Printing Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at LSC Communications can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as LSC Communications is planning to shift buying processes online.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of LSC Communications, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Printing Services 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 strategic competitive environment developments

– As LSC Communications is one of the leading players in the Printing Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Printing Services industry in last five years.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Printing Services industry, LSC Communications 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, LSC Communications 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 Printing Services industry using digital technology.

Products dominated business model

– Even though LSC Communications has some of the most successful models in the Printing Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. LSC Communications should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

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

High cash cycle compare to competitors

LSC Communications has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Printing 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of LSC Communications products

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

High bargaining power of channel partners in Printing Services industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, LSC Communications 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 Printing Services industry.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of United States, LSC Communications needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.




LSC Communications Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities of LSC Communications are -

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, LSC Communications can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that LSC Communications operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Printing Services sector.

Finding new ways to collaborate

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

Manufacturing automation

– LSC Communications can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Printing 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.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Printing Services industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for LSC Communications in the Printing Services industry. Now LSC Communications can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Buying journey improvements

– LSC Communications can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Printing 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for LSC Communications 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help LSC Communications to increase its market reach. LSC Communications 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Developing new processes and practices

– LSC Communications can develop new processes and procedures in Printing 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.

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 LSC Communications 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– LSC Communications has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Printing Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled LSC Communications to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help LSC Communications to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for LSC Communications in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Printing Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Printing Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. LSC Communications 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. LSC Communications 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.




Threats LSC Communications External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats of LSC Communications are -

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, LSC Communications 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 LSC Communications prominent markets.

Environmental challenges

– LSC Communications 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. LSC Communications can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Printing Services industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for LSC Communications in Printing Services industry. The Printing Services 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.

Easy access to finance

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

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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– LSC Communications 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.

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. LSC Communications 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Printing Services industry are lowering. It can presents LSC Communications with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Printing 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. LSC Communications needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Printing Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– LSC Communications 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 Printing Services industry.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– LSC Communications has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Printing Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, LSC Communications needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Printing 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.

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.

Increasing wage structure of LSC Communications

– 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 LSC Communications.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of LSC Communications Template, Example


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



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