Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong
The Hong Kong brand Nin Jiom was popularly known in the territory by its flagship product Pei Pa Koa Cough Syrup. It was through the profitable mass selling of such an over-the-counter traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that Nin Jiom thrived through decades of history. By the early 2000s, the rapidly modernizing consumer culture in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong government's new TCM policies required manufacturers of TCM products to adapt constantly to a changing business environment. Nin Jiom's attention to this earned it an annual turnover of several hundred million Hong Kong dollars by early 2000s. The company was able to continue expanding overseas and in mainland China. How did Nin Jiom's products fit in an era when the Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong as well as western public paid more attention to TCM than before? How did the company manage to maintain its success as a TCM brand in modern Hong Kong?
Swot Analysis of "Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong" written by Bennett Yim, Vincent Mak includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nin Tcm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, International business, Marketing, Sales and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nin Tcm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nin Tcm 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 Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nin Tcm
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Nin Tcm
Strengths Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nin Tcm in Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Nin Tcm is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong case study 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Nin Tcm is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Nin Tcm in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nin Tcm has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nin Tcm is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Nin Tcm 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 Nin Tcm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Nin Tcm is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Nin Tcm 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nin Tcm in the sector have low bargaining power. Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nin Tcm to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Nin Tcm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Nin Tcm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Nin Tcm 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 industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Bennett Yim, Vincent Mak can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nin Tcm has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nin Tcm is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Nin Tcm needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nin Tcm to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong, in the dynamic environment Nin Tcm has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nin Tcm has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong, is just above the industry average. Nin Tcm needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nin Tcm is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nin Tcm is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Nin Tcm has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Nin Tcm 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Nin Tcm has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Nin Tcm has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Bennett Yim, Vincent Mak suggests that, Nin Tcm 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 industry.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Nin Tcm 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nin Tcm 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nin Tcm 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Nin Tcm can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nin Tcm can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nin Tcm in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nin Tcm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nin Tcm to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong case study. Nin Tcm can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nin Tcm to increase its market reach. Nin Tcm 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Nin Tcm can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Nin Tcm has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nin Tcm to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Nin Tcm 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Nin Tcm can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nin Tcm to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Nin Tcm to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Nin Tcm 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, as suggested in case study, Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong are -
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. Nin Tcm 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Nin Tcm 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Nin Tcm 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. Nin Tcm can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Nin Tcm has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nin Tcm needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong, Nin Tcm may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nin Tcm 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 prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong .
Increasing wage structure of Nin Tcm
– 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 Nin Tcm.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nin Tcm in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
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 Nin Tcm.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nin Tcm 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 the industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Nin Tcm 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 field.
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 Nin Tcm business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nin Tcm is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong 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 the case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong 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 the Harvard case study Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong 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 Nin Jiom: Selling Traditional Chinese Medicine in Modern Hong Kong is 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 Nin Tcm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.