Kudremukh Iron Ore (KIOC) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Iron & Steel
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Kudremukh Iron Ore (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Kudremukh Iron Ore is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kudremukh Iron Ore
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Kudremukh Iron Ore can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kudremukh Iron Ore, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Kudremukh Iron Ore
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kudremukh Iron Ore
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Iron & Steel sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kudremukh Iron Ore
Strengths of Kudremukh Iron Ore | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kudremukh Iron Ore are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Iron & Steel industry
– Kudremukh Iron Ore has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kudremukh Iron Ore to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Iron & Steel industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kudremukh Iron Ore to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Iron & Steel industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kudremukh Iron Ore digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kudremukh Iron Ore has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Strong track record of project management in the Iron & Steel industry
– Kudremukh Iron Ore is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Kudremukh Iron Ore emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Kudremukh Iron Ore has one of the best training and development program in Basic Materials industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kudremukh Iron Ore is present in almost all the verticals within the Iron & Steel industry. This has provided Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
High brand equity
– Kudremukh Iron Ore has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kudremukh Iron Ore to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kudremukh Iron Ore has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Analytics focus
– Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Iron & Steel industry. The technology infrastructure of India is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kudremukh Iron Ore in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Kudremukh Iron Ore has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kudremukh Iron Ore to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of Kudremukh Iron Ore | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kudremukh Iron Ore are -
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Kudremukh Iron Ore, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Iron & Steel industry. 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 dependence on Kudremukh Iron Ore ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Kudremukh Iron Ore still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Iron & Steel industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Kudremukh Iron Ore has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Iron & Steel industry, Kudremukh Iron Ore needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Kudremukh Iron Ore is one of the leading players in the Iron & Steel industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Iron & Steel industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of India, Kudremukh Iron Ore needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Kudremukh Iron Ore is just above the Iron & Steel industry average. It 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.
Skills based hiring in Iron & Steel industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kudremukh Iron Ore has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Iron & Steel 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 in Iron & Steel industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in India, Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Iron & Steel industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kudremukh Iron Ore is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Kudremukh Iron Ore to provide better information regarding Iron & Steel products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ less understanding of Kudremukh Iron Ore strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Kudremukh Iron Ore Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Kudremukh Iron Ore are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kudremukh Iron Ore has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Iron & Steel sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Kudremukh Iron Ore to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Iron & Steel industry.
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 Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kudremukh Iron Ore has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Iron & Steel industry. This can help Kudremukh Iron Ore to build a more holistic ecosystem for Kudremukh Iron Ore products in the Iron & Steel industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kudremukh Iron Ore in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Iron & Steel industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Kudremukh Iron Ore can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Iron & Steel sector. 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Iron & Steel industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Kudremukh Iron Ore can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kudremukh Iron Ore to increase its market reach. Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Kudremukh Iron Ore can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kudremukh Iron Ore operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Iron & Steel sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kudremukh Iron Ore can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Threats Kudremukh Iron Ore External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Kudremukh Iron Ore are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Iron & Steel industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Iron & Steel industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kudremukh Iron Ore in Iron & Steel industry. The Iron & Steel 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, Kudremukh Iron Ore may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Iron & Steel sector.
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.
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 Kudremukh Iron Ore.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore prominent markets.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kudremukh Iron Ore 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Iron & Steel industry.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Kudremukh Iron Ore in the Iron & Steel sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Iron & Steel industry are lowering. It can presents Kudremukh Iron Ore with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Iron & Steel sector.
Increasing wage structure of Kudremukh Iron Ore
– 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore.
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. Kudremukh Iron Ore needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Iron & Steel industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kudremukh Iron Ore Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore 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 Kudremukh Iron Ore needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.