NSC Groupe (ALNSC) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Misc. Capital Goods
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for NSC Groupe (France)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , NSC Groupe is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that NSC Groupe can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the NSC Groupe, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of NSC Groupe
2. Improving business portfolio management of NSC Groupe
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in France
4. Making a Misc. Capital Goods sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of NSC Groupe
Strengths of NSC Groupe | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of NSC Groupe are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– NSC Groupe has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled NSC Groupe to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. The sustainable margins have also helped NSC Groupe to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of NSC Groupe in Misc. Capital Goods industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– NSC Groupe has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. NSC Groupe 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of NSC Groupe in the Capital Goods sector have low bargaining power. NSC Groupe has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps NSC Groupe to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the NSC Groupe 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.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Capital Goods industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For NSC Groupe digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. NSC Groupe 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– NSC Groupe has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – NSC Groupe staying ahead in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Capital Goods
– NSC Groupe is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in France. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in France but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled NSC Groupe in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– NSC Groupe is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in France. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in France. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– NSC Groupe has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled NSC Groupe to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– NSC Groupe is present in almost all the verticals within the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This has provided NSC Groupe 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
– NSC Groupe has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Capital Goods industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of NSC Groupe have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of NSC Groupe | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of NSC Groupe are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As NSC Groupe is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in last five years.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in France, NSC Groupe 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of NSC Groupe products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, NSC Groupe needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, NSC Groupe 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry using digital technology.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, NSC Groupe 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of NSC Groupe is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, but NSC Groupe needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help NSC Groupe to focus more on services in the Misc. Capital Goods industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as NSC Groupe is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, NSC Groupe has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Misc. Capital Goods industry over the last five years. NSC Groupe even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on NSC Groupe ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of NSC Groupe still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Capital Goods industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though NSC Groupe has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
NSC Groupe has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Skills based hiring in Misc. Capital Goods industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at NSC Groupe 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.
NSC Groupe Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of NSC Groupe are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help NSC Groupe to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, NSC Groupe can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that NSC Groupe operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Capital Goods sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Misc. Capital Goods industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. NSC Groupe can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for NSC Groupe 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for NSC Groupe 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.
Buying journey improvements
– NSC Groupe 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.
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 NSC Groupe in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. Now NSC Groupe can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of NSC Groupe has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Capital Goods industry. This can help NSC Groupe to build a more holistic ecosystem for NSC Groupe products in the Misc. Capital Goods industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– NSC Groupe 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– NSC Groupe 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.
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. NSC Groupe 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. NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of NSC Groupe 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. NSC Groupe needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on NSC Groupe demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Misc. Capital Goods industry and other sectors.
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 NSC Groupe in the Misc. Capital Goods sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 NSC Groupe business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– NSC Groupe 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of NSC Groupe
– 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 NSC Groupe.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– NSC Groupe 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 Misc. Capital Goods industry.
Environmental challenges
– NSC Groupe 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. NSC Groupe can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Capital Goods industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, NSC Groupe may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Capital Goods sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe prominent markets.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for NSC Groupe 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe 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 NSC Groupe needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
