Ozner Water International (2014) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Ozner Water International (Hong Kong)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Ozner Water International is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ozner Water International

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Ozner Water International can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ozner Water International, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ozner Water International 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Ozner Water International can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Ozner Water International
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ozner Water International
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Misc. Capital Goods sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ozner Water International

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Strengths of Ozner Water International | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Ozner Water International are -

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Capital Goods industry

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

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Digital Transformation in Misc. Capital Goods industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ozner Water International digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ozner Water International 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.

Learning organization

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

Strong track record of project management in the Misc. Capital Goods industry

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

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Ozner Water International in Misc. Capital Goods industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– Ozner Water International is present in almost all the verticals within the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This has provided Ozner Water International 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Ozner Water International has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Ozner Water International 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.

Training and development

– Ozner Water International has one of the best training and development program in Capital Goods 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Ozner Water International is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in Hong Kong. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Hong Kong. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Ability to lead change in Misc. Capital Goods

– Ozner Water International is one of the leading players in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in Hong Kong. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Capital Goods industry in Hong Kong but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Ozner Water International in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Organizational Resilience of Ozner Water International

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

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Weaknesses of Ozner Water International | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Ozner Water International are -

Products dominated business model

– Even though Ozner Water International has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Capital Goods industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Ozner Water International should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

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

Need for greater diversity

– Ozner Water International 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.

Skills based hiring in Misc. Capital Goods industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ozner Water International 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Hong Kong, Ozner Water International needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

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

High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Capital Goods industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong, Ozner Water International 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ozner Water International 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. Ozner Water International 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 cash cycle compare to competitors

Ozner Water International 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.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Ozner Water International 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Ozner Water International products

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

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Ozner Water International Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Ozner Water International are -

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Ozner Water International 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 Ozner Water International to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ozner Water International to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

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. Ozner Water International 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. Ozner Water International 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Ozner Water International has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Capital Goods industry. This can help Ozner Water International to build a more holistic ecosystem for Ozner Water International products in the Misc. Capital Goods industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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 Ozner Water International in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. Now Ozner Water International can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Developing new processes and practices

– Ozner Water International 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ozner Water International 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Ozner Water International 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ozner Water International 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.

Increase in government spending

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

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 Ozner Water International 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

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

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. Ozner Water International can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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Threats Ozner Water International External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Ozner Water International are -

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Ozner Water International 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.

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 Ozner Water International in the Misc. Capital Goods sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Increasing wage structure of Ozner Water International

– 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 Ozner Water International.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Ozner Water International 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Ozner Water International has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Capital Goods industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ozner Water International needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Capital Goods 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.

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. Ozner Water International 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Ozner Water International 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.

Environmental challenges

– Ozner Water International 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. Ozner Water International can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Capital Goods industry.

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. Ozner Water International needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Capital Goods industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Ozner Water International is facing in Misc. Capital Goods sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Ozner Water International business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Ozner Water International 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ozner Water International Template, Example

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

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