Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom
In the process of business development, many enterprises have to deal with issues from all dimensions of operations management including inventory management, distribution management, and network design. Sichuan Telecom, a branch of China Telecom Co. Ltd., which was a Fortune Global 500 company, achieved its highest market share in its broadband business and maintained strong growth momentum in this segment. However, there was a serious inventory management problem concerning ADSL modems, a component that most broadband users required. The problem was that Sichuan Telecom's ADSL modem inventory was either too high or insufficient. To reduce inventory costs and improve the service level, the procurement manager conducted a comprehensive analysis of the company's sales and demand forecasting, procurement and suppliers, distribution management, warehouse management, and inventory management. This case follows the procurement manager in analyzing the company's existing operational management system for ADSL modems in order to discover the cause of the inventory problem and develop an effective plan to improve operations management.
Authors :: Chen Xu, Zhang Du, Li Zheng, Ding Yichao
Swot Analysis of "Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom" written by Chen Xu, Zhang Du, Li Zheng, Ding Yichao includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Adsl Inventory facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Adsl Inventory, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Adsl Inventory 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Adsl Inventory
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Adsl Inventory
Strengths Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Adsl Inventory in Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Adsl Inventory in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Adsl Inventory has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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.
Analytics focus
– Adsl Inventory 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 Chen Xu, Zhang Du, Li Zheng, Ding Yichao 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Adsl Inventory has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Adsl Inventory has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Strong track record of project management
– Adsl Inventory is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Adsl Inventory 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom - 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 Adsl Inventory
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Adsl Inventory does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Adsl Inventory 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Adsl Inventory 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Adsl Inventory is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Adsl Inventory is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Adsl Inventory is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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.
Weaknesses Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Adsl Inventory 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. Adsl Inventory 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom, in the dynamic environment Adsl Inventory has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Adsl Inventory has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Adsl Inventory has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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 Adsl Inventory 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Adsl Inventory supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Adsl Inventory vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Adsl Inventory is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Adsl Inventory 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Adsl Inventory 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Chen Xu, Zhang Du, Li Zheng, Ding Yichao suggests that, Adsl Inventory 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom, it seems that the employees of Adsl Inventory don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Opportunities Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom | 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Adsl Inventory can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
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 Adsl Inventory 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.
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. Adsl Inventory can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Adsl Inventory can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Adsl Inventory in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Adsl Inventory 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Adsl Inventory to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Adsl Inventory has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Adsl Inventory to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom case study. Adsl Inventory can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Adsl Inventory 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Adsl Inventory can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Adsl Inventory operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Adsl Inventory 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 Adsl Inventory 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, Adsl Inventory 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, Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Adsl Inventory 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Adsl Inventory can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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.
Threats Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Adsl Inventory 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
– Adsl Inventory has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Adsl Inventory needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Increasing wage structure of Adsl Inventory
– 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 Adsl Inventory.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Adsl Inventory 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Adsl Inventory can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Adsl Inventory is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Adsl Inventory in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
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.
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 Adsl Inventory business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Adsl Inventory 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Adsl Inventory 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Adsl Inventory with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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 Upgrading the Supply Chain Management Strategy at Sichuan Telecom 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 Adsl Inventory needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
