SM Wirtschaftsberatungs (SMWN) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Real Estate Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for SM Wirtschaftsberatungs (Germany)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the SM Wirtschaftsberatungs, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs
2. Improving business portfolio management of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Germany
4. Making a Real Estate Operations sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs
Strengths of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is one of the leading players in the Real Estate Operations 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.
Ability to lead change in Real Estate Operations
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is one of the leading players in the Real Estate Operations industry in Germany. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Real Estate Operations industry in Germany but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled SM Wirtschaftsberatungs in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled SM Wirtschaftsberatungs to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Real Estate Operations 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Real Estate Operations industry
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is present in almost all the verticals within the Real Estate Operations industry. This has provided SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Learning organization
- SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at SM Wirtschaftsberatungs emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Real Estate Operations industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For SM Wirtschaftsberatungs digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Real Estate Operations industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Real Estate Operations industry, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has high operating costs in the Real Estate Operations industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract SM Wirtschaftsberatungs lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Real Estate Operations industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is one of the leading players in the Real Estate Operations industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Real Estate Operations industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that SM Wirtschaftsberatungs needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Real Estate Operations industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Real Estate Operations industry, but SM Wirtschaftsberatungs needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help SM Wirtschaftsberatungs to focus more on services in the Real Estate Operations industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Germany, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at SM Wirtschaftsberatungs, in the dynamic environment of Real Estate Operations industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
SM Wirtschaftsberatungs Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Real Estate Operations sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled SM Wirtschaftsberatungs to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help SM Wirtschaftsberatungs to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 Real Estate Operations industry.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Real Estate Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can utilize new technology in the field of Real Estate Operations industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can develop new processes and procedures in Real Estate Operations 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.
Manufacturing automation
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Real Estate Operations 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.
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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Real Estate Operations industry. This can help SM Wirtschaftsberatungs to build a more holistic ecosystem for SM Wirtschaftsberatungs products in the Real Estate Operations industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for SM Wirtschaftsberatungs in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Real Estate Operations industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help SM Wirtschaftsberatungs to increase its market reach. SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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.
Threats SM Wirtschaftsberatungs External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs prominent markets.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Real Estate Operations industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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. SM Wirtschaftsberatungs can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Real Estate Operations industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 Real Estate Operations industry and other sectors.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, SM Wirtschaftsberatungs may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Real Estate Operations 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Real Estate Operations industry are lowering. It can presents SM Wirtschaftsberatungs with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Real Estate Operations sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for SM Wirtschaftsberatungs in Real Estate Operations industry. The Real Estate Operations 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.
Increasing wage structure of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs
– 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs.
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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that SM Wirtschaftsberatungs is facing in Real Estate Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SM Wirtschaftsberatungs Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs 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 SM Wirtschaftsberatungs needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.