SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Maternus Kliniken (Germany)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Maternus Kliniken is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Maternus Kliniken
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Maternus Kliniken can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Maternus Kliniken, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Maternus Kliniken
2. Improving business portfolio management of Maternus Kliniken
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Germany
4. Making a Healthcare Facilities sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Maternus Kliniken
Strengths of Maternus Kliniken | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Maternus Kliniken are -
High brand equity
– Maternus Kliniken has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Maternus Kliniken to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Maternus Kliniken is one of the leading players in the Healthcare Facilities industry in Germany. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Germany. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Maternus Kliniken
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Maternus Kliniken does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Maternus Kliniken comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Healthcare Facilities industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Healthcare Facilities industry
– Maternus Kliniken has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Maternus Kliniken to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Healthcare Facilities industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Maternus Kliniken to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Healthcare Facilities
– Maternus Kliniken is one of the leading players in the Healthcare Facilities industry in Germany. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Healthcare Facilities industry in Germany but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Maternus Kliniken in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Maternus Kliniken 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.
Digital Transformation in Healthcare Facilities industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Maternus Kliniken digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Maternus Kliniken 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Maternus Kliniken 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.
Analytics focus
– Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry. The technology infrastructure of Germany 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Maternus Kliniken has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Healthcare Facilities industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Maternus Kliniken have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Maternus Kliniken is one of the most innovative firm in Healthcare Facilities sector.
Weaknesses of Maternus Kliniken | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Maternus Kliniken are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Germany, Maternus Kliniken needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Healthcare Facilities industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Germany, Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Maternus Kliniken has high operating costs in the Healthcare Facilities industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Maternus Kliniken lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Maternus Kliniken is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Maternus Kliniken to provide better information regarding Healthcare Facilities products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Maternus Kliniken supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Maternus Kliniken is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Maternus Kliniken vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Maternus Kliniken is just above the Healthcare Facilities industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Maternus Kliniken is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Healthcare Facilities industry, but Maternus Kliniken needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Maternus Kliniken to focus more on services in the Healthcare Facilities industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on Maternus Kliniken ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Maternus Kliniken still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Healthcare Facilities industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Maternus Kliniken has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Maternus Kliniken, in the dynamic environment of Healthcare Facilities industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Maternus Kliniken has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Maternus Kliniken needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Healthcare Facilities industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Maternus Kliniken can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Maternus Kliniken is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring in Healthcare Facilities industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Maternus Kliniken 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.
Maternus Kliniken Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Maternus Kliniken are -
Buying journey improvements
– Maternus Kliniken can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Healthcare Facilities 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Maternus Kliniken can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Healthcare Facilities industry.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Maternus Kliniken 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.
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 Maternus Kliniken 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Maternus Kliniken to increase its market reach. Maternus Kliniken 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Maternus Kliniken can develop new processes and procedures in Healthcare Facilities 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Maternus Kliniken has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Healthcare Facilities industry. This can help Maternus Kliniken to build a more holistic ecosystem for Maternus Kliniken products in the Healthcare Facilities industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Maternus Kliniken 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Maternus Kliniken can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Maternus Kliniken can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Maternus Kliniken operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Healthcare Facilities sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Maternus Kliniken can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Healthcare Facilities 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Maternus Kliniken has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Healthcare Facilities sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Maternus Kliniken to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Maternus Kliniken to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Healthcare Facilities industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Maternus Kliniken in the Healthcare Facilities industry. Now Maternus Kliniken can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Maternus Kliniken External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Maternus Kliniken are -
Environmental challenges
– Maternus Kliniken 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. Maternus Kliniken can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Healthcare Facilities industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Healthcare Facilities industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Maternus Kliniken can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Maternus Kliniken 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 Healthcare Facilities industry and other sectors.
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. Maternus Kliniken 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.
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. Maternus Kliniken needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Healthcare Facilities industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Maternus Kliniken
– 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 Maternus Kliniken.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Maternus Kliniken may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Healthcare Facilities sector.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Healthcare Facilities industry are lowering. It can presents Maternus Kliniken with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Healthcare Facilities sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Maternus Kliniken has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Healthcare Facilities industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Maternus Kliniken needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Healthcare Facilities 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Maternus Kliniken in Healthcare Facilities industry. The Healthcare Facilities 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Maternus Kliniken Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken 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 Maternus Kliniken needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.