SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Matrix Composites&Engineering (Australia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Matrix Composites&Engineering is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption,
there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Matrix Composites&Engineering
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Matrix Composites&Engineering can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Matrix Composites&Engineering, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Matrix Composites&Engineering
2. Improving business portfolio management of Matrix Composites&Engineering
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Australia
4. Making a Oil Well Services & Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Matrix Composites&Engineering
Strengths of Matrix Composites&Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Matrix Composites&Engineering are -
Strong track record of project management in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– Matrix Composites&Engineering is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Matrix Composites&Engineering is one of the leading players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry in Australia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Australia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Matrix Composites&Engineering has one of the best training and development program in Energy 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.
Analytics focus
– Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. The technology infrastructure of Australia 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Matrix Composites&Engineering are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Matrix Composites&Engineering digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Matrix Composites&Engineering is present in almost all the verticals within the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This has provided Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
High brand equity
– Matrix Composites&Engineering has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Matrix Composites&Engineering to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Oil Well Services & Equipment
– Matrix Composites&Engineering is one of the leading players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry in Australia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry in Australia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Matrix Composites&Engineering in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Matrix Composites&Engineering in the Energy sector have low bargaining power. Matrix Composites&Engineering has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Matrix Composites&Engineering to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Matrix Composites&Engineering has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Matrix Composites&Engineering is one of the most innovative firm in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector.
Weaknesses of Matrix Composites&Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Matrix Composites&Engineering are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Matrix Composites&Engineering is one of the leading players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry in last five years.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Matrix Composites&Engineering, in the dynamic environment of Oil Well Services & Equipment industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Matrix Composites&Engineering has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Matrix Composites&Engineering has high operating costs in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Matrix Composites&Engineering lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Matrix Composites&Engineering, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Matrix Composites&Engineering needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Matrix Composites&Engineering can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Matrix Composites&Engineering is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ less understanding of Matrix Composites&Engineering strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Matrix Composites&Engineering has some of the most successful models in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Matrix Composites&Engineering should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Australia, Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Matrix Composites&Engineering is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, but Matrix Composites&Engineering needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Matrix Composites&Engineering to focus more on services in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Matrix Composites&Engineering has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Matrix Composites&Engineering Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Matrix Composites&Engineering are -
Buying journey improvements
– Matrix Composites&Engineering can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Matrix Composites&Engineering can develop new processes and procedures in Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
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 Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Matrix Composites&Engineering to increase its market reach. Matrix Composites&Engineering 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Matrix Composites&Engineering in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Matrix Composites&Engineering has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This can help Matrix Composites&Engineering to build a more holistic ecosystem for Matrix Composites&Engineering products in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Matrix Composites&Engineering in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. Now Matrix Composites&Engineering can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Matrix Composites&Engineering is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Matrix Composites&Engineering can utilize new technology in the field of Oil Well Services & Equipment industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats Matrix Composites&Engineering External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Matrix Composites&Engineering are -
Environmental challenges
– Matrix Composites&Engineering 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. Matrix Composites&Engineering can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry.
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 Matrix Composites&Engineering.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Matrix Composites&Engineering is facing in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Matrix Composites&Engineering has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Matrix Composites&Engineering needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
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 Matrix Composites&Engineering business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Matrix Composites&Engineering can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering prominent markets.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Oil Well Services & Equipment industry are lowering. It can presents Matrix Composites&Engineering with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Oil Well Services & Equipment sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering in the Oil Well Services & Equipment sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry regulations.
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. Matrix Composites&Engineering needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Matrix Composites&Engineering
– 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Matrix Composites&Engineering Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering 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 Matrix Composites&Engineering needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.