SWOT Analysis of Apple Company

Strengths	Weaknesses
–          Apple Company is one of the most vital and most valuable brands worldwide.The company has a practical and fast-moving innovation process significantly anchored on the company’s long history of use of technology for innovation purposes.To maximize profits, Apple Company uses its high-profit margins based on effective pricing of premiums.There is dedication in the research and development of product designs for the company.	The exclusivity policy of Apple limits the company’s distribution network of commodities.The highly-priced products of the company discourage some of the target populations, especially those with middle-low income.The use of the premium pricing strategy leads to a situation where the company sales are dependent on high-end segments of the market.Allegations that Apple Company engages in consumer tracking through applications installed in the products.The company performs limited advertisements and promotions.
Opportunities	Threats
Apple Company has an opportunity to expand its distribution network to reach a broader market.There is also an opportunity for the company to spread widely and participate in aggressive marketing, leading to more sales volumes dependent on increasing demand.Apple Company has an opportunity to develop new product lines within the electronics and online services. The discovery and utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an opportunity for Apple.	The aggressive competition in the external market of Apple is a significant threat to the company and is posed by companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung.There is also a threat of many imitations resulting from companies that manufacture products like Apple and thus provide competition based on low prices.There is a threat of increasing labor costs within countries where Apple has production facilities.COVID 19 outbreak poses a significant threat to the company.

Summary of findings

Matching Business Strengths to Opportunities

The SWOT analysis findings indicate that Apple Company has a practical and fast-moving innovation process as part of its strengths. The company can use this innovation to develop new product lines that would lead to more sales. Additionally, the company can apply the invention in other functional areas of the company, including the aggressive marketing section, where it would assist the company in gaining more markets and spreading widely. The outstanding dedication of Apple Company on matters of research and development has led to the discovery and the use of AI within the company. More commitment to research and development can enable the company to discover more product designs that can be developed with the help of AI. The company can use High-profit margins resulting from effective pricing of premiums is expanding its distribution networks. More profit margins indicate that the company can invest in reaching broader markets.

Converting Business Weaknesses into Strengths

High prices of commodities are one of the weaknesses that the company faces. High prices discourage many consumers, especially those with middle to low income. Therefore, Apple Company can overcome this weakness by reducing the price of its products and making them purchasable by any income group. The company can achieve this by utilizing big profit margins earned from sales. For instance, findings have revealed that Apple Company’s premium pricing strategy leads to its high-profit margins (Heracleous, 2013). Such a strategic factor is essential because profits are maximized even with limited sales volume. The company can utilize these profits to reduce the price of its products and make them more available. The company has a weakness in engaging in active advertisements and promotions. The company can convert this to strength by utilizing the company’s innovative technology. Additionally, the company can apply innovation in developing creative campaigns for Apple Company.

Actions to Advance goals and Competitive Advantage

There is increasing competition in electronic and online services and products such as those that Apple Company manufactures. Despite Apple Company’s solidified nature, Samsung, Amazon, and Microsoft are some of the greatest rivals. To beat them, Apple can introduce new technologies that can assist in the development of new product lines. For instance, Apple can introduce AI to assist in product development. The acquisition of Regaind and DeskConnect by Apple integrates intelligence search to the photos application of its iPhone products (Bender and Gronau, 2021). To stay focused on its goals, Apple Company has to continually engage in research and development of products and new product lines that are conventional and meet current consumers’ needs. To reach a broader market, Apple Company can utilize innovative marketing strategies. The use of innovation in brand promotion and advertising can enable the company to get more market segments and increase sales volume.

Interrelationships Among Functional Areas of Apple Company

Apple Company hosts a couple of functional areas, including marketing, finance, customer service, human resources, production, distribution, and research and development, among other functional areas. The company’s success is anchored on the proper functioning of the functional areas. For instance, the finance area of the business provides finances that the company can use to participate in marketing, production, and research and development. The more financial investment of the company into research and development places the company at a competitive advantage if the finances are used to identify new product designs. Good customer service results from fair treatment and consideration of the needs of staff members. If effective human resource strategies are adopted, better customer service will see staff engagement and motivation. Better customer services enable the company to achieve its goals and attain a competitive advantage over rivals.

References

Bender, B., & Gronau, N. (2021). Coring on digital platforms—fundamentals and examples from the mobile device sector. In Platform Coring on Digital Software Platforms (pp. 45-77). Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden.

Heracleous, L. (2013). Quantum strategy at apple inc. Organizational Dynamics, 42(2), 92-99.