Blue Sky Alternative Inv (BLA) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Blue Sky Alternative Inv (Australia)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Blue Sky Alternative Inv is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Blue Sky Alternative Inv

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

---

Strengths of Blue Sky Alternative Inv | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Blue Sky Alternative Inv are -

Innovation driven organization

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv is one of the most innovative firm in Investment Services sector.

Learning organization

- Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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 Blue Sky Alternative Inv is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Blue Sky Alternative Inv emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv is one of the leading players in the Investment Services industry in Australia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Australia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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.

Analytics focus

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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 Investment Services industry. The technology infrastructure of Australia 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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.

High brand equity

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Blue Sky Alternative Inv to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Ability to lead change in Investment Services

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv is one of the leading players in the Investment Services industry in Australia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Investment Services industry in Australia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Blue Sky Alternative Inv in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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.

Organizational Resilience of Blue Sky Alternative Inv

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Blue Sky Alternative Inv does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Strong track record of project management in the Investment Services industry

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Blue Sky Alternative Inv staying ahead in the Investment Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

---

---

Weaknesses of Blue Sky Alternative Inv | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Blue Sky Alternative Inv are -

High dependence on Blue Sky Alternative Inv ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Blue Sky Alternative Inv still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Investment Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Blue Sky Alternative Inv has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

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

Aligning sales with marketing

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

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Blue Sky Alternative Inv, in the dynamic environment of Investment Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Blue Sky Alternative Inv has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Employees’ less understanding of Blue Sky Alternative Inv strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Blue Sky Alternative Inv has high operating costs in the Investment Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Blue Sky Alternative Inv lucrative customers.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Australia, Blue Sky Alternative Inv needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Lack of clear differentiation of Blue Sky Alternative Inv products

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

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Investment Services industry, Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Blue Sky Alternative Inv has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Investment 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.

---

Blue Sky Alternative Inv Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Blue Sky Alternative Inv are -

Using analytics as competitive advantage

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

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Blue Sky Alternative Inv is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Blue Sky Alternative Inv can utilize new technology in the field of Investment Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Investment Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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. Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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.

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

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

Increase in government spending

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

Developing new processes and practices

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv can develop new processes and procedures in Investment 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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 Blue Sky Alternative Inv to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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 Blue Sky Alternative Inv to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Manufacturing automation

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Investment 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Blue Sky Alternative Inv to increase its market reach. Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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. Blue Sky Alternative Inv can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Buying journey improvements

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Investment 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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.

---

Threats Blue Sky Alternative Inv External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Blue Sky Alternative Inv are -

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. Blue Sky Alternative Inv needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Investment Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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 Investment Services industry.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Blue Sky Alternative Inv is facing in Investment Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Investment Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Blue Sky Alternative Inv needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Investment 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.

Increasing wage structure of Blue Sky Alternative Inv

– 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 Blue Sky Alternative Inv.

Environmental challenges

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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. Blue Sky Alternative Inv can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Investment Services industry.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Blue Sky Alternative Inv may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Investment Services 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.

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 Blue Sky Alternative Inv.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Investment Services industry are lowering. It can presents Blue Sky Alternative Inv with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Investment Services sector.

Regulatory challenges

– Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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 Investment Services industry regulations.

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 international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Blue Sky Alternative Inv 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 Blue Sky Alternative Inv prominent markets.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Blue Sky Alternative Inv Template, Example

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

--- ---