AKITA Drilling B (AKTb) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Oil Well Services & Equipment
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for AKITA Drilling B (Canada)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , AKITA Drilling B is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that AKITA Drilling B can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the AKITA Drilling B, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which AKITA Drilling 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.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of AKITA Drilling B can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of AKITA Drilling B
2. Improving business portfolio management of AKITA Drilling B
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Oil Well Services & Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of AKITA Drilling B
Strengths of AKITA Drilling B | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of AKITA Drilling B are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the AKITA Drilling B 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.
High brand equity
– AKITA Drilling B has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled AKITA Drilling B to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of AKITA Drilling B comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Learning organization
- AKITA Drilling B 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 AKITA Drilling B is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at AKITA Drilling B emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– AKITA Drilling 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– AKITA Drilling B is present in almost all the verticals within the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This has provided AKITA Drilling B 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– AKITA Drilling B has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of AKITA Drilling B have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– AKITA Drilling B has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. AKITA Drilling 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– AKITA Drilling B has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – AKITA Drilling B staying ahead in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– AKITA Drilling B has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled AKITA Drilling B to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. The sustainable margins have also helped AKITA Drilling B to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of AKITA Drilling B in the Energy sector have low bargaining power. AKITA Drilling B has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps AKITA Drilling B to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– AKITA Drilling B is one of the most innovative firm in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector.
Weaknesses of AKITA Drilling B | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of AKITA Drilling B are -
High dependence on AKITA Drilling B ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of AKITA Drilling B still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though AKITA Drilling B has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of AKITA Drilling B, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of AKITA Drilling B is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, but AKITA Drilling B needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help AKITA Drilling B to focus more on services in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though AKITA Drilling B has some of the most successful models in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. AKITA Drilling B should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, AKITA Drilling B is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help AKITA Drilling B to provide better information regarding Oil Well Services & Equipment products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, AKITA Drilling B 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Canada, AKITA Drilling B 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of AKITA Drilling B is just above the Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at AKITA Drilling B, in the dynamic environment of Oil Well Services & Equipment industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. AKITA Drilling B has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 AKITA Drilling B supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, AKITA Drilling B is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left AKITA Drilling B vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, AKITA Drilling 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.
AKITA Drilling B Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of AKITA Drilling B are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of AKITA Drilling B has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This can help AKITA Drilling B to build a more holistic ecosystem for AKITA Drilling B products in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. AKITA Drilling B can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– AKITA Drilling B has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled AKITA Drilling B to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help AKITA Drilling B to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. AKITA Drilling 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. AKITA Drilling 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.
Manufacturing automation
– AKITA Drilling B can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for AKITA Drilling 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, AKITA Drilling 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 AKITA Drilling 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for AKITA Drilling B in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. AKITA Drilling B 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 AKITA Drilling B 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– AKITA Drilling B can develop new processes and procedures in Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects AKITA Drilling B can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, AKITA Drilling B can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that AKITA Drilling B operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector.
Threats AKITA Drilling B External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of AKITA Drilling B are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. AKITA Drilling B can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, AKITA Drilling 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 AKITA Drilling B prominent markets.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– AKITA Drilling B has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, AKITA Drilling B needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that AKITA Drilling B is facing in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– AKITA Drilling 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. AKITA Drilling B can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry.
Increasing wage structure of AKITA Drilling 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 AKITA Drilling B.
Regulatory challenges
– AKITA Drilling 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry regulations.
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 AKITA Drilling B in the Oil Well Services & Equipment sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Oil Well Services & Equipment industry are lowering. It can presents AKITA Drilling B with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Oil Well Services & Equipment sector.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– AKITA Drilling B 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry.
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 AKITA Drilling B business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. AKITA Drilling B needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of AKITA Drilling B Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at AKITA Drilling 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 AKITA Drilling 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 AKITA Drilling 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 AKITA Drilling 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 AKITA Drilling B needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.