Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles
Anhui LIGOO New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (LIGOO) had survived and made developments in the field of battery management systems (BMS) in the changing environment of new energy vehicles (NEVs), amid policy adjustment in China. Established in 2010, LIGOO had achieved a respectable market share and acquired a reputation as possessing excellent BMS technology in the electric vehicle industry. However, due to a cold market in the industry and weak reception for these vehicles, LIGOO's performance began to decline. The company made its first transformation, applying BMS technology to the communications and coal mining industries, enabling LIGOO's survival and ability to improve BMS technology when many other BMS technology companies were going bankrupt. In 2013 and 2014, the Chinese government began to enhance its support for the NEV industry, prompting LIGOO's chief executive officer to consider whether LIGOO should continue its existing business in the communications and coal mining industries or rejoin the NEV industry. Jin Hong and Ping Deng and Zheng Zhao are affiliated with University of Science and Technology of China. Hao Lu is affiliated with Room 604, School of Management. Xiumei Guo is affiliated with Curtin University.
Authors :: Jin Hong, Ping Deng, Zheng Zhao, Hao Lu
Swot Analysis of "Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles" written by Jin Hong, Ping Deng, Zheng Zhao, Hao Lu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ligoo Bms facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ligoo Bms, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ligoo Bms 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 Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ligoo Bms
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ligoo Bms
Strengths Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ligoo Bms in Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ligoo Bms to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ligoo Bms to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Ligoo Bms is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Ligoo Bms has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ligoo Bms to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles 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.
Analytics focus
– Ligoo Bms 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 Jin Hong, Ping Deng, Zheng Zhao, Hao Lu 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Ligoo Bms in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ligoo Bms is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ligoo Bms has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Ligoo Bms
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ligoo Bms does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Ligoo Bms 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 Ligoo Bms in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ligoo Bms 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 Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Ligoo Bms 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 Ligoo Bms is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ligoo Bms is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ligoo Bms has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles 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 Ligoo Bms 's lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ligoo Bms has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles HBR case study mentions - Ligoo Bms takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ligoo Bms products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ligoo Bms needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Ligoo Bms 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. Ligoo Bms 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Ligoo Bms 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ligoo Bms has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ligoo Bms, firm in the HBR case study Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles | 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 Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ligoo Bms 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, Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ligoo Bms can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ligoo Bms to increase its market reach. Ligoo Bms 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ligoo Bms 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 Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ligoo Bms to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ligoo Bms 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ligoo Bms 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Ligoo Bms 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ligoo Bms can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Ligoo Bms can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ligoo Bms 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Ligoo Bms can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ligoo Bms can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles suggest that firm 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Ligoo Bms in the consumer business. Now Ligoo Bms can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Ligoo Bms can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ligoo Bms is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Ligoo Bms needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Environmental challenges
– Ligoo Bms 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. Ligoo Bms can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ligoo Bms 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ligoo Bms has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ligoo Bms needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ligoo Bms in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles, Ligoo Bms may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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 Ligoo Bms business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Ligoo Bms 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ligoo Bms with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Ligoo Bms
– 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 Ligoo Bms.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ligoo Bms 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles 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 Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles 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 Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles 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 Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles 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 Anhui LIGOO: A Battery Management System for New Energy Vehicles 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 Ligoo Bms needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.