SWOT analysis is a commonly used tool often used in strategic planning that looks at a set of internal and external factors in a simple matrix style report. It’s an excellent tool when used in the early stages of strategic planning as used correctly its representative of the position at that point in time and can facilitate the gathering of information pertaining to the business.
SWOT stands for
• Strengths – internal strengths that can be used to exploit external opportunities
• Weaknesses – weaknesses within the company which result in a failure to capitalize on external opportunities
• Opportunities – available for the company to exploit
• Threats – external conditions which could cause damage to the objective or organization.
How to create a SWOT template
SWOT analysis is not a difficult tool to master and does not require complex tools or software. As a supply chain tool – it’s excellent for use in planning strategy from procurement through to materials management as it can be used at all levels from organizational leadership to departmental levels.
The SWOT analysis tool is a simple table divided into four quadrants (see example below). Each quadrant is labelled and contains the relevant information recorded for that box.
SWOT analysis example for a typical supply chain department
| Strengths
Highly trained and motivated staff Established operating procedures Stable demand pattern |
Weaknesses
Large number of suppliers to manage Poor use of technology High labour cost |
| Opportunities
Deploy commodity plans Outsourcing Partnering with key suppliers |
Threats
Large fluctuations in material cost Lack of competition between suppliers Material Obsolescence |