Solar Thin Films Inc (SLTZ) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Misc. Capital Goods
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Solar Thin Films Inc (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Solar Thin Films Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Solar Thin Films Inc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Solar Thin Films Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Solar Thin Films Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Solar Thin Films Inc 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 Solar Thin Films Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Solar Thin Films Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of Solar Thin Films Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Misc. Capital Goods sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Solar Thin Films Inc
Strengths of Solar Thin Films Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Solar Thin Films Inc are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– Solar Thin Films Inc has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Solar Thin Films Inc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Solar Thin Films Inc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Solar Thin Films Inc 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
– Solar Thin Films Inc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Solar Thin Films Inc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Solar Thin Films Inc 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 Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Solar Thin Films Inc in the Capital Goods sector have low bargaining power. Solar Thin Films Inc has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Solar Thin Films Inc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Capital Goods
– Solar Thin Films Inc is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Solar Thin Films Inc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Solar Thin Films Inc is present in almost all the verticals within the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This has provided Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Learning organization
- Solar Thin Films Inc 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 Solar Thin Films Inc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Solar Thin Films Inc emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Misc. Capital Goods industry
– Solar Thin Films Inc is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Solar Thin Films Inc is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Capital Goods sector.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Capital Goods industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Solar Thin Films Inc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Weaknesses of Solar Thin Films Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Solar Thin Films Inc are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Solar Thin Films Inc needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Misc. Capital Goods industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Solar Thin Films Inc can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Solar Thin Films Inc is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Solar Thin Films Inc has high operating costs in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Solar Thin Films Inc lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Solar Thin Films Inc, in the dynamic environment of Misc. Capital Goods industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Solar Thin Films Inc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Solar Thin Films Inc has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Solar Thin Films Inc should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Solar Thin Films Inc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Solar Thin Films Inc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, but Solar Thin Films Inc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Solar Thin Films Inc to focus more on services in the Misc. Capital Goods industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of United States, Solar Thin Films Inc needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Solar Thin Films Inc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Solar Thin Films Inc to provide better information regarding Misc. Capital Goods products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Solar Thin Films Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Solar Thin Films Inc are -
Loyalty marketing
– Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Solar Thin Films Inc in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. Now Solar Thin Films Inc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Solar Thin Films Inc 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 Solar Thin Films Inc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Misc. Capital Goods industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Solar Thin Films Inc 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. Solar Thin Films Inc 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
– Solar Thin Films Inc can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Solar Thin Films Inc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Solar Thin Films Inc in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Solar Thin Films Inc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Misc. Capital Goods sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Solar Thin Films Inc to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Solar Thin Films Inc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Solar Thin Films Inc can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Capital Goods 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Solar Thin Films Inc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Solar Thin Films Inc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Capital Goods sector.
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 Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Threats Solar Thin Films Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Solar Thin Films Inc are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Solar Thin Films Inc in Misc. Capital Goods industry. The Misc. Capital Goods 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Solar Thin Films Inc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
Environmental challenges
– Solar Thin Films Inc 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. Solar Thin Films Inc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Capital Goods industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Solar Thin Films Inc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Solar Thin Films Inc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Capital Goods 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.
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.
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 Solar Thin Films Inc in the Misc. Capital Goods sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Solar Thin Films Inc
– 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 Solar Thin Films Inc.
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 Solar Thin Films Inc.
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 Solar Thin Films Inc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Solar Thin Films Inc 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.
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. Solar Thin Films Inc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Solar Thin Films Inc is facing in Misc. Capital Goods sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Solar Thin Films Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Solar Thin Films Inc 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 Solar Thin Films Inc 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 Solar Thin Films Inc 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 Solar Thin Films Inc 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 Solar Thin Films Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.