Swot Analysis of "The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B)" written by Li Jin, Aldo Musacchio, Huw Edwards includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Color.no Abc facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IPO and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Color.no Abc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Color.no Abc 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Color.no Abc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Color.no Abc
Strengths The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Color.no Abc in The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Color.no Abc is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Color.no Abc in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Color.no Abc 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 Li Jin, Aldo Musacchio, Huw Edwards 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.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Color.no Abc 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 Color.no Abc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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.
High brand equity
– Color.no Abc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Color.no Abc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Color.no Abc 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Color.no Abc in the sector have low bargaining power. The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Color.no Abc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Color.no Abc has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Color.no Abc 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Color.no Abc 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Color.no Abc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Color.no Abc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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 Color.no Abc 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Color.no Abc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Color.no Abc 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Li Jin, Aldo Musacchio, Huw Edwards suggests that, Color.no Abc 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Color.no Abc 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Color.no Abc 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B), is just above the industry average. Color.no Abc 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Color.no Abc is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Color.no Abc needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Color.no Abc to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Color.no Abc is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Color.no Abc 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. Color.no Abc 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B), in the dynamic environment Color.no Abc has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Color.no Abc has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) | 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) are -
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. Color.no Abc can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Color.no Abc 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 Finance & Accounting segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Color.no Abc to increase its market reach. Color.no Abc 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Color.no Abc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Color.no Abc 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Color.no Abc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Color.no Abc 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Color.no Abc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Color.no Abc 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. Color.no Abc 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Color.no Abc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Color.no Abc to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Developing new processes and practices
– Color.no Abc can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Color.no Abc 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 Color.no Abc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Color.no Abc 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.
Threats The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Color.no Abc in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Color.no Abc is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Color.no Abc 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B), Color.no Abc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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. Color.no Abc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Color.no Abc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Color.no Abc 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) .
Increasing wage structure of Color.no Abc
– 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 Color.no Abc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Color.no Abc 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.
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 Color.no Abc.
Regulatory challenges
– Color.no Abc 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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 The IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) (B) 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 Color.no Abc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.