Schweizer Electronic (SWEGn) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Schweizer Electronic (Germany)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Schweizer Electronic is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Schweizer Electronic

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

---

Strengths of Schweizer Electronic | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Schweizer Electronic are -

Innovation driven organization

– Schweizer Electronic is one of the most innovative firm in Semiconductors sector.

Strong track record of project management in the Semiconductors industry

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

Highly skilled collaborators

– Schweizer Electronic has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Semiconductors industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Schweizer Electronic have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

High brand equity

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

Training and development

– Schweizer Electronic has one of the best training and development program in Technology industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Semiconductors industry

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

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Schweizer Electronic in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Schweizer Electronic has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Schweizer Electronic to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Diverse revenue streams

– Schweizer Electronic is present in almost all the verticals within the Semiconductors industry. This has provided Schweizer Electronic 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

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

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Ability to lead change in Semiconductors

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

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Schweizer Electronic in Semiconductors industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

---

---

Weaknesses of Schweizer Electronic | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Schweizer Electronic are -

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

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Schweizer Electronic has high operating costs in the Semiconductors industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Schweizer Electronic lucrative customers.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Schweizer Electronic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Semiconductors industry, but Schweizer Electronic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Schweizer Electronic to focus more on services in the Semiconductors industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Employees’ less understanding of Schweizer Electronic strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Schweizer Electronic 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Schweizer Electronic is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Schweizer Electronic to provide better information regarding Semiconductors products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Lack of clear differentiation of Schweizer Electronic products

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

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Schweizer Electronic 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 Semiconductors industry using digital technology.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Schweizer Electronic, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Semiconductors 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Schweizer Electronic has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Semiconductors industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Ability to respond to the competition

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

High dependence on Schweizer Electronic ‘s star products

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

---

Schweizer Electronic Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Schweizer Electronic are -

Better consumer reach

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

Increase in government spending

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

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Semiconductors industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Schweizer Electronic 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 Schweizer Electronic 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.

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. Schweizer Electronic can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Semiconductors industry

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

Leveraging digital technologies

– Schweizer Electronic 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Schweizer Electronic can develop new processes and procedures in Semiconductors 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Schweizer Electronic 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

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

Lowering marketing communication costs

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

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Schweizer Electronic can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

---

Threats Schweizer Electronic External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Schweizer Electronic are -

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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Schweizer Electronic 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 Schweizer Electronic prominent markets.

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 Schweizer Electronic.

Easy access to finance

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

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 Schweizer Electronic business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Regulatory challenges

– Schweizer Electronic 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 Semiconductors industry regulations.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Schweizer Electronic may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Semiconductors sector.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Schweizer Electronic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Semiconductors industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Environmental challenges

– Schweizer Electronic 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. Schweizer Electronic can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Semiconductors industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Schweizer Electronic in Semiconductors industry. The Semiconductors 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Schweizer Electronic has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Semiconductors industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Schweizer Electronic needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Semiconductors 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

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. Schweizer Electronic 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.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Schweizer Electronic Template, Example

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

--- ---