SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Chemical Manufacturing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals
Strengths of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is present in almost all the verticals within the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This has provided Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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)
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals staying ahead in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Chemical Manufacturing
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is one of the leading players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Chemical Manufacturing industry
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Chemical Manufacturing industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
Weaknesses of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of India, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 dependence on Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Chemical Manufacturing industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is one of the leading players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in last five years.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to provide better information regarding Chemical Manufacturing products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, but Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to focus more on services in the Chemical Manufacturing industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has high operating costs in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry using digital technology.
Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Chemical Manufacturing 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals can develop new processes and procedures in Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
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. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to increase its market reach. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals is facing in Chemical Manufacturing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals
– 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Chemical Manufacturing 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.
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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals in the Chemical Manufacturing sector and impact the bottomline 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals.
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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals prominent markets.
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. Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals 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 Gujarat Alkalis&Chemicals needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.