What does the swat analysis give? What is a business SWOT analysis and how to work with it

See and download an example of a SWOT analysis, as well as detailed instructions on how to conduct it.

SWOT analysis is a convenient tool for identifying the most important directions strategic development companies. Literally translated, this abbreviation stands for:

strengths (Strengths), the advantages of the company relative to its competitors, what will allow it to achieve the set strategic goals;
weaknesses (Weaknesses), shortcomings of the company, what it loses to its competitors, what prevents it from achieving strategic goals;
opportunities (Opportunities), favorable external factors for the work of the company;
threats (Treats), negative external factors that pose a potential threat to the enterprise.

For conducting a SWOT- analysis requires the following.

1. Identify, classify and rank factors representing the strengths and weaknesses of the company, as well as opportunities and threats external environment... Select the most significant from each group (10, no more).

2. Consistently study the combinations of these factors:

"Opportunities / Strengths". Reflects the potential of the company and allows you to answer the question whether it has competitive advantages and external enabling factors on which the strategy could be based;
Threats / Weaknesses. Reveals the combination of potential external negative factors and the weakest internal factors of the company, which must be addressed in the first place;
Opportunities / Weaknesses. Allows you to identify the internal factors of the company, which should be strengthened in order to take advantage of the favorable opportunities of the external environment in the future.

For greater clarity, the intermediate and final results of the SWOT analysis are more conveniently presented in tabular form. It is also better to compare factors using tables.

Let's take a look at the swat analysis methodology using the example of the APLEONA HSG enterprise, in which I work.

Example of an enterprise SWOT analysis

Selecting the object of analysis

For swat analysis, you can choose any object: manufactured product, business sector, business, competitor, and so on. The main thing is to clearly fix it and not scatter attention to adjacent objects. APLEONA HSG provides comprehensive management services commercial real estate, technical control and audit, as well as infrastructure management. The company is present in six large regions of Russia: Central, North-West, South, Far Eastern districts, Siberia and the Volga-Ural region, as well as in Kazakhstan. For example, we will carry out a swat analysis of the service "integrated management of commercial real estate" in the Central region.

Appoint experts

Experts can be top managers of the company or middle managers, but they are necessarily well-versed in information in their field. They must operate not only with personal opinion, but also with dry numbers.

table 1. Experts to conduct a SWOT analysis of the organization

Expert No.	Position
	Deputy General Director for Real Estate Management
	CFO
	Commercial Director
	HR Director
	Technical Director

We identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

At this step, you need to systematically and as realistic as possible to determine with each expert the strengths and weaknesses of the company, the threats and opportunities of the external environment. All indicators must be recorded in groups. You can write as many factors as you like, but here the rule of greatest efficiency comes into force, the meaning of which is: to make a selection from significant indicators, ignoring insignificant ones. That is, to effectively use the allocated time.

Internal strengths (S) of the business include:

Extensive accumulated work experience.
Highly qualified staff.
Customized manufacturing and business processes.
Good marketing policy.
High quality of manufactured products.
Corporate culture ( what a CFO needs to know about corporate standards ).
The innovative component of the business.
Other.

Internal Weaknesses (W) include:

High debt load of the business.
Lack of development strategy.
Inefficient use of production assets.
Narrow product range.
Etc.

The possibilities of the external environment (O) include:

Government support for the business sector or region.
Low competition in the business niche.
Growth in demand for products.
Improving the availability of resources.
Etc.

Environmental threats (T) include:

Unfavorable economic situation in the region of presence.
Constant competitive advantages from competitors.
An unfavorable shift in exchange rates.
Tightening of tax legislation.
Etc.

In our example SWOT analysis of the firm Deputy CEO for Real Estate Management noted the following factors:

S - the presence of a central dispatching service increases the quality of service provision by 15%, and the quality of accident elimination by 50%;
W - belonging to a large international corporation imposes additional non-production reporting and policy compliance tasks on production. This reduces productivity by 12.2%;
O - the development of real estate management technologies allows you to make a better product with less labor costs;
T - the technical base of most commercial buildings and structures is outdated, new equipment is rarely put into operation. In this regard, the risks of insured events increase.

The CFO noted the following metrics:

S - the organization does not use loans in its work, as a result of which net profit more by 2 - 4% per year;
W - The additional burden of complying with policies and regulations increases overhead costs by 10% per year;
O - the volume of purchases and high competition in the supplier markets make it possible to obtain favorable conditions for the purchase of raw materials and services. For example, increase payment terms up to 90 calendar days;
T - the tightening of tax policy carries an additional burden on the formation of reports for each OP. The threat can be estimated at 2 million rubles. annually.

The commercial director noted the factors:

S - the company's image as a conscientious and professional service provider helps to win tenders for large contracts for integrated real estate management;
W - at the same time, the price for the company's services is above the market, which scares off some of the clients. The share of such clients is 35%;
O - APLEONA HSG has a good chance of getting an international contract for the maintenance of offices and factories of transcontinental customers working in the Central region of Russia;
T - due to the difficult state of the economy, the commercial real estate market in the Central Region is stagnating. Contract prices fall, often below cost.

The HR Director noted the metrics:

S - high qualifications and low turnover of blue collars increase labor productivity by 10%;
W - staff salaries are on average higher than the market, which gives additional expenses for payroll of 50 million rubles. in year;
O - due to the "white" terms of contracts, the company has a wide choice of specialists in the labor markets;
T - the general decline in the qualifications of specialists in the labor markets affects the company.

The CTO noted the factors:

S - the presence of the CAFM system - an innovative tool for managing commercial real estate - allows you to increase work efficiency by 20%;
W - the material engineering base does not allow for a full range of maintenance services;
O - customers have an increased need for the constant presence of highly qualified engineers at the facility;
T - competition in the market of engineering companies has increased, part of the market has been taken by highly specialized companies with direct contracts with customers.

How to use a SWOT analysis for a CFO

A SWOT analysis can be helpful in making almost any management decisions... Look at specific examples how to use this technique correctly in current work and in developing a strategy. In the article you will find examples of a SWOT analysis of a project for using factoring services, building a SWOT matrix of a machine tool plant, as well as a SWOT analysis of a jewelry company.

Making a SWOT analysis table and matrix

After you have listed the metrics in four lists by category, you assign significance to each metric. Use expert opinions when doing this.

table 2... Example of a SWOT analysis table for a project

Factor	Points (from 1 to 5)
Factor

Sort indicators within categories from largest to smallest and fill in the swot matrix

Based on the collected and ranked factors, such a SWOT analysis matrix was obtained (see Figure 2).

Drawing... Sample SWOT Analysis Matrix

Analyzing the results

At the last stage, we identify the links between the indicators, in other words, we conduct a scenario analysis. For this, all factors internal environment are compared with environmental factors. The intersection of indicators is a set of scenarios for the possible development of events for the company.

The following swat analysis matrix is compiled (example):

Scenarios are prescribed:

“Weakness and Opportunities” - pay attention to how, using the capabilities of the external environment, to correct the weaknesses of the business;
“Weakness and Threats” - what needs to be done first of all so that threats from the external environment do not harm the business;
“Strength and Possibilities” - how to maximize the use of competitive advantages in a favorable external environment;
“Strength and Threats” - how to maintain competitive advantages in the event of unfavorable developments.

The obtained results of the analysis can be safely introduced into the strategy of the organization's behavior and used in daily work.

In our example of swot analysis for APLEONA HSG, the following scenarios were considered and behavioral strategies were adopted:

I. Weakness: Additional non-production tasks in production

Opportunity: a wide range of specialists in labor markets

Business impact is average.

Strategy - improving the work of personnel services in order to find only highly qualified young personnel who can work quickly and solve various problems

II. Weakness: The price of the company's services is higher than the market.

Threat: stagnation of the commercial real estate market.

The impact on the business is difficult, close to critical.

The strategy of behavior is to search for new sales markets, including entering the markets of the CIS countries.

III. Strength: Highly skilled blue collar workers and low turnover.

Opportunity: the need for the presence of engineers on site.

Business impact is average.

Strategy - when concluding a contract with a customer, highlight additional savings for the customer from the presence of qualified personnel at the facility.

IV. Strength: the company's image as a conscientious and professional performer

Threat: increased competition in the engineering company market.

Business impact is medium.

The development strategy is to constantly train the engineering staff, modernize the technical base in order to provide a full range of technical services to customers.

SWOT-analysis

SWOT- a method of analysis in strategic planning, which consists in dividing factors and phenomena into four categories: s trengths (strengths), w eaknesses (weaknesses), o pportunities (capabilities) and t hreats (threats).

SWOT analysis can be presented in the form of a table:

SWOT was first introduced in 1963 at Harvard Business Policy Conference by Professor Kenneth Andrews. Kenneth Andrews). Initially, SWOT analysis was based on the articulation and structuring of knowledge about the current situation and trends. Since the SWOT analysis in general view does not contain economic categories, it can be applied to any organizations, individuals and countries to build strategies in a wide variety of areas of activity.

The SWOT analysis methodology is very simple, and the analysis itself consists of two parts. Opportunities and threats represent an analysis of the external environment, all factors that can affect the company, but do not depend on it. Strengths and weaknesses are internal analysis of the company / product. According to Professor Philip Kotler good manager must, when drawing up a SWOT analysis, indicate at least 5 global external threats and opportunities that are capable of both developing and destroying a business. There are always such opportunities, it is important to find them.

Usually, a SWOT analysis starts with identifying strengths and weaknesses. It is important to take into account that when determining them, one should be guided by the opinion of consumers, and not the company's employees. Customers are the ones who know your strengths and weaknesses best. Here is a list of factors commonly found in strengths and weaknesses analysis:

1) Company reputation

2) Product quality

3) Quality of service

4) Market share

6) Logistics

7) Promotion efficiency

8) Quality of work of sales agents

9) Geographic coverage

10) Implementation of innovations

11) Costs

12) Fin. Sustainability

13) Workers

14) Technical equipment

15) Ability to meet deadlines

16) Flexibility, quick reaction to events

17) Assortment

19) Resources

20) Knowing buyers

It is important that the data are real facts and not someone else's guess. It is also very bad when the responsibility for creating a SWOT analysis lies with one person. It turns out a little one-sided vision.

Opportunities and Threats. These are all elements of the external environment that do not depend on the company in any way. When analyzing them, it is important to understand that the data must be clear and verified. Otherwise, the whole analysis may become meaningless. External opportunities and threats include:

1) The economic situation in the country and in the world

2) Demographic situation

3) Political

4) Social movements

5) Technological progress

6) Analysis of competitors

7) Legislation

8) Cultural factors

9) Social issues

Usually the SWOT analysis is presented in the form of a table. After its implementation, it is necessary to develop a plan to eliminate weaknesses, and the company's actions in case of threats. You should also consider how you can best leverage opportunities and strengths.

In practice, several different forms of SWOT analysis:

1) Express SWOT analysis- the most common (due to its simplicity) type qualitative analysis, which allows us to determine which strengths of our organization will help to fight threats and use the opportunities of the external environment, and which weaknesses will prevent us from doing so. Some business schools like to show this type of analysis, since the scheme for its implementation has an undoubted advantage: it is very clear and simple. However, in practice, this technique has drawbacks: only the most obvious factors fall into the points of all cells of the table, and even then some of these factors disappear in the cross matrix, since they cannot be used.

2) Summary SWOT Analysis, which should present the main indicators that characterize the activities of the company at the current moment and outline the prospects for future development. Therefore, it should be done not "BEFORE" and not "INSTEAD", but only AFTER all other types of strategic analysis. The advantage of this form of analysis is that it allows, in some approximation, to quantify the factors that have been identified (even in cases where the firm does not have objective information about these factors). Another advantage is the ability (based on all types of strategic analysis) go straight to the development of a strategy and develop a set of measures necessary to achieve strategic goals. An obvious drawback is the more complicated procedure for conducting the analysis (during strategic sessions in which the top management of the company participates, it can take 1-2 days, depending on the depth of the factors being worked out).

3. Mixed SWOT analysis is an attempt to combine the first and second forms of analysis. For this, at least the main three types of strategic analysis are preliminarily carried out (usually STEP analysis, analysis according to Porter's "5 forces" model and analysis of the internal environment according to one of the methods). Then all factors are combined into single tables, from which a cross matrix is formed (as in the express form). A quantitative assessment of factors is usually not done. The advantage of this form is the depth of analysis. The disadvantage should be attributed to the psychological factor: in practice, very often the matter ends with the construction of a beautiful matrix and complacency ("well, now we know what to expect and what to fear, so we don't need anything else"), or the oblivion of all the factors included in a large SWOT table: only those factors that are included in the matrix remain before the eyes and in the memory.

Anti-SWOTanalysis

There is also the "Anti-SWOT" method, which is based on SWOT, but its essence lies in the analysis of the consequences of not fulfilling the intended statements, indicated in the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Strengths - opportunities quadrant:
-How not to realize the strengths, if there are opportunities?
-How will overestimated expectations about the realization of opportunities prevent the use of strengths?
Strengths - threats quadrant:
-How and when (under what circumstances) strengths will not allow to level the threat?
-How will strengthening threats reduce the strong side?
Weaknesses - opportunities quadrant:
-How and under what conditions, changing weaknesses will prevent you from taking advantage of opportunities?
-How and under what conditions the opportunities will not allow to level the weaknesses?
Weaknesses - Threats Quadrant:
-How and under what conditions will threats strengthen weaknesses?
It is assumed that carrying out anti-SWOT allows you to form a plan of crisis measures that may arise during the implementation of the strategy.

MatrixSPACE-analysis

The main method for such assessments is the Strategic Positioning and Assessment Matrix (SPACE).

The SPACE method is that four groups of factors are assessed for the enterprise. Each factor is assessed by experts on a scale from 0 to 6.

Environmental stability factors (ES)

Technological changes (few - many)

Inflation rates (low - high)

Demand volatility (small - large)

Competitive product price range (small to large)

Barriers to market access (few - many)

Competitive pressure (weak - strong)

Price elasticity of demand (inflexible - flexible)

Industrial capacity factors (IS)

Growth potential (small - large)

Profit potential (small - large)

Financial stability (low - high)

Technology level (simple - difficult)

Resource utilization rate (ineffective - efficient)

Capital intensity (high - low)

Ease of market access (easy - difficult)

Productivity, utilization of production facilities (low - high)

Competitive Advantage Factors (CA)

Market share (large - small)

Product quality (high - low)

Product life cycle (initial - final)

Product change cycle (fixed - changeable)

Customer loyalty (strong - weak)

Competitive capacity utilization (strong - weak)

Vertical integration (high - low)

Financial Strength Factors (FS)

Return on investment (low - high)

Financial dependence (unbalanced - balanced)

Liquidity (unbalanced - balanced)

Required / available capital (large - small)

Flow of funds (weak - strong)

Ease of leaving the market (small - large)

Enterprise risk (large - small)

Having estimated the value of each factor, it is necessary to calculate the average value of the factors within each of the groups, and then postpone the obtained values on the coordinate axes. The result will be a quadrangle of one of the types shown in Fig. below.

If the side in the FS-IS quadrant is the farthest from the center of coordinates, then the company is in an aggressive strategic state. If the side in the IS-ES quadrant is farthest away, then the company is in a competitive strategic position. If the side in the CA-FS quadrant is farthest away, then the company is in a conservative strategic state. If the side in the CA-ES quadrant is farthest away, then the company is in a defensive strategic state.

SWOTandSPACE-analysis on the example of enterprises.

First, we will consider a practical example of SWOT analysis for OOO "Donchik"

The company sells Russian equipment and bakes rye bread (the owner's hobby). The owner set up the company 10 years ago and has established good working relationships with all major buyers.

Strengths of the Company	Opportunities of the Company in the external environment
-Famous brand Qualified Service Center Dealer contracts with renowned factories Market structure of the sales department A HR manager six months ago found a Sales Director, who increased sales by 60% in 6 months. Own site and service center 3 months ago, the Marketing department was created, which is headed by a strong marketer, the Marketing Information system This month, the Prospective Development Department was organized, headed by an experienced leader. The head of the department took part in the creation of 7 new businesses.	Improving service and reducing maintenance time Possibility of narrow specialization Development corporate clients and new consumer industries Integration with manufacturers Tight integration with factories and big discounts Increase profitability, control over costs Creation of a new business for the rental of equipment CRM implementation
Weaknesses of the Company	Environmental threats to business
Quality problems (below average quality) Lack of working capital for purchases, weak CFO? At the beginning of the month, the owner fired Director General, the deputy director temporarily appointed to this post is weak Last year dramatic changes: high staff turnover (20% over the last six months) Weekly conflicts (arrows) between Head of Purchasing (old) and Director of Sales (new)	Instability of the dollar exchange rate (purchase prices are pegged to $ and they are sold in rubles) (forecast of the dollar exchange rate) Supplier policy changes

ApplicationSPASE-analysis for the choice of strategies in OJSC "Yartelecom"

Using SPASE analysis, it can be concluded that the most appropriate strategy is a strategy - a conservative position.

Factors Determining a Firm's Competitive Advantage

Determinants financial position firms

Average 2.44

Factorsdetermining the stability of the environment

Average - 2.43

Factors that determine the attractiveness of the industry

Average 4.63

Conclusion the firm takes a conservative stance.

This position is typical for stable, slow-growing markets.

The critical factor is the competitiveness of the product.

Recommended strategies 1) reduction of assortment; 2) cost reduction; 3) focus on managing the flow of payments; 4) additional protective of competitive products; 5) development of new products; 6) an attempt to penetrate more attractive markets.

Firm Behavior: This is the behavior of the analyst. Firms' policy is based on a careful analysis of the opportunities available on the market and their careful use.

Accordingly, the question “how to do a SWOT analysis” is of particular importance in the life of an entrepreneur. Today we will talk about how to do a SWOT analysis. Rather, we will develop such step by step instructions- a questionnaire, after which the same question () will be permanently closed for you.

First, let's take a look at what a SWOT analysis is (I apologize in advance to those for whom this is unnecessary). SWOT analysis - planning tool and four comparative business elements. These elements are: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A well-done SWOT analysis gives an entrepreneur a huge amount of useful information required to make the right business solutions.

Learning to do swot analysis

SWOT Analysis - 4 Step Instruction

For clarity, let's divide the SWOT analysis process into steps, each of which is represented by several questions. The answers to these questions are, in fact, the process of conducting a SWOT analysis. So.

Step 1 - Scanning the business environment

In this step, looking at our business environment, we must identify the factors that affect or may affect our business. All factors can be divided into internal and external. In order to determine these factors, answer the following questions:

1. What legal factors (laws and regulations) affect (or may) affect my business?

2. What environmental factors are (or may be) affecting my business?

3. What political factors are (or may be) affecting my business?

4. What economic factors are (or may be) affecting my business?

5. What geographic factors are (or may be) affecting my business?

6. What social factors influence (or can influence) my business?

7. What technological factors are (or may be) affecting my business?

8. What cultural factors are (or may be) affecting my business?

9. What market factors are (or may be) affecting my business?

The answers to the first 9 questions give you information about external factors, i.e., about those impacts on your business that are in your environment, regardless of the existence of your business. All these questions, one way or another, are worth asking yourself in order to fully understand what can have any impact on your business. Of course, different factors will have a different impact in different business areas, but this is exactly what you will understand when answering these questions.

10. Does (or can) influence the competition factor on my business?

11. Does (or can) influence on my business the factor of management and business management?

12. Does (or can) influence on my business the factor of the chosen business strategy?

13. Does (or can) influence my business by the factor of the business structure?

14. Does (or can) influence the factor of employees on my business?

15. Does (or can) influence my business factor of the set business goals?

16. Does (or can) influence the leadership factor on my business?

17. Does the operational management factor influence (or can it influence) my business?

18. Does (or can) my business be influenced by technology in business?

Answers to questions 10 through 18 will give you information about the overall factors associated with your business entering the market. The list may not be exhaustive, a lot depends on the field of activity, but these are the main points.

And so, answering the above questions, you will have an almost complete set of factors on which your business depends to one degree or another. Next, you should analyze them and make the correct conclusions for yourself. In this regard, we proceed to the next step of our instructions on how to do a SWOT analysis.

Step 2. Analysis of the business environment

In this step of the SWOT analysis, we must analyze in more detail all the factors listed above and understand what they actually represent for us and our business. We will do this, as you might guess, in a few questions. Here they are:

19. What are the legal factors for our business could be a threat, and what an opportunity?

20. What political factors for our business can be a threat, and what an opportunity?

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A bit of history

For the first time, SWOT analysis was presented to the world in 1963 at Harvard, by academician Kenneth Richmond Andrews. This method was introduced for the first time at the conference. strategic planning to the arsenal modern business used by all marketers, analysts and business owners today. It is a mandatory step in strategic planning and an excellent tool for auditing a company.

This method of analysis allows you to look at the business as a whole, at a separate cell of the company, business process or product from the position of strengths and weaknesses, advantages and threats, both internal and external. And also, many use it in Everyday life... Let's learn how to use it.

S.V.O.T. Is an abbreviation with in English four words:

S (Strengths)- strengths. When describing the strengths of the object being analyzed, you should describe more of its own intrinsic strengths. This is easy to do if you perform this task in a team and using the Internet. The broader and more objective you look at the subject of the analysis (company, process, product, etc.), the more likely it is that a SWOT analysis will yield effective conclusions, so do not assign this task only to marketers or leaders.

W (Weaknesses)- limitations. A similar situation with shortcomings, remember all the disadvantages, all the unpleasant moments associated with the subject of analysis and write them down. Anything that weakens him and makes him unattractive, burdens him - fix everything. Objectively and only in relation to the analyzed object.

O (Opportunities)- opportunities. Describe what opportunities the external environment gives you? What favorable external factors accompanying development help your subject of analysis to develop?

T (Threats)- threats. Record facts that negatively affect the development or advancement of your object of analysis from outside. In most cases, it is considered here competitive environment and changes foreign market that could threaten you.

SWOT analysis template

The analysis is performed by compiling a table or a 2 by 2 matrix in each cell of which the evaluation criteria are entered, for example:

You can copy this example template into MS Word and print it for work.

There is an opinion that the SWOT analysis is a superficial imprecise analysis tool based on the subjective opinion of one person. However, if you conduct an audit by a team of specialists from different fields, you can completely achieve an objective picture of the situation.

SWOT analysis on the example of a company

Now we will fill in the template or matrix of CBOT with data from one company X, which is engaged in the auto business (sale of new cars, spare parts, and repair services).

Let's start at the top left corner with the strengths of the company, which it has at the moment, then fill in the upper right field - there we enter the internal existing weaknesses / weaknesses of the company. In the lower left square, we write the possibilities of the external environment, which may be realized in the future, and in the right one, threats and risks that are terrible for the business as a whole.

When you fill out the SWOT analysis matrix, analyze the top squares from the side of the manager and from the side of your customers, and the lower ones from the side of the company management.

As we can see, in the green square with a plus, you need to fix the company's resources. Personnel, equipment, software, finance, uniqueness, business processes, etc.
In the beige sector, we fix shortcomings within the company. Answer these questions:

"What prevents you from selling more?"
"What do you lack in comparison with your competitors?"
"Who hinders development or does not meet the assigned competencies?"
"What or what resource is missing to solve the problem?"
"What's not to like your customers?"

3. The blue sector should reveal the opportunities that are provided to your company from outside. Answer these questions:

"What are the prospects for the development of your line of business in the modern market?"
“Is there an increase in demand for your product / service? Are the needs of your target audience growing? "
"What are the trends regarding the laws in your area of business?"
"Are there free niches where your company could make additional profit?"
"Is there an opportunity to expand the range of your product?"
“Who could help you develop your business? How?"

4. The most important threat sector. It is he who is the priority and will give us material for the development of specific activities. To fill in the red sector, you need to write the answers to the questions:

"What are my worst fears?"
“I would have done ... .., but if not for .... "
"The company will cease to exist if ..."
"What actions of competitors will affect the development of the company?"
"What changes in policy and legislation are undesirable for business?"

You must answer these questions by a team of managers and executives.

We get the result

What to do with these recordings next? The next step is to rank your records by importance, weight, and importance. In the example above, each entry is located under a different severity number - the first is the most important. Define the three most important positions in the "Threats" block for them, first of all, you need to develop strategic plan measures, actions of the company to eliminate or prepare for these threats.

Under the first item is: "Loss of dealership due to non-fulfillment of sales targets." The sales plan is an internal factor, but the fate of the company is still influenced by the importer, who analyzes the share of sales in the region and may deprive you of the right to sell cars of a certain brand. It turns out this external factor, which is associated with internal and external problems. Solution: make a SWOT analysis of the sales department, it will show the problems that do not allow selling enough. Problem # 1 is clear.

Further. "Dependence of income on currency exchange rate fluctuations"... If your internal accounting is kept in foreign currency, you need to develop measures to reduce the impact of this factor on profitability, otherwise an increase in the exchange rate will destroy your margin (markup). For example: selling goods without arriving at the warehouse, increasing the turnover of goods (selling quickly), forming an insurance fund in case of fluctuations, making an adaptive price list that will be automatically converted into the national currency at the current exchange rate on the day of payment, etc.

Further. "Dependence on importer's policies and decisions"... Designate an employee to monitor changes and sales rules that are regulated by the importer. Let him only deal with communication with the importing company. Find a contact person in the importing company who can help with advice and establish contact with him for long-term cooperation.

This data is entered into a table like this:

About the pros and cons of the technique

The advantage of this method is - the ability to obtain a general spatial picture of the state of the object of analysis, which will help to accept the right decision... SWOT analysis can be applied in various fields and is available to everyone.

Disadvantage is - the lack of accurate quantitative data that can show the dynamics of changes and a subjective factor in the preparation.

Summarizing

This is exactly how you will be able to understand: what to do next, where to move, what is in the way. Such an analysis can be carried out separately for each department, which will help to identify more problems and, as a result, develop a strategy for further development or solution of the problem. The effectiveness of a SWOT analysis depends on the objectivity of the people who compiled it, as well as on the number of questions (coverage of the problem or condition). The more questions - the more deeply you touch on the problem, the more auditors - the more questions and subtleties you will be able to work through.

As you can see, SWOT analysis is quite powerful. marketing tool allowing you to draw up a competent business development strategy and correct existing shortcomings.