SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore
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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore
Strengths of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore are -
Innovation driven organization
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is one of the most innovative firm in Chemical Manufacturing sector.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Ability to lead change in Chemical Manufacturing
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Training and development
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Learning organization
- Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore in Chemical Manufacturing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is present in almost all the verticals within the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This has provided Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is one of the leading players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in India. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in India. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Chemical Manufacturing industry over the last five years. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Skills based hiring in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is just above the Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Chemical Manufacturing industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, but Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to focus more on services in the Chemical Manufacturing industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Chemical Manufacturing industry. This can help Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to build a more holistic ecosystem for Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore products in the Chemical Manufacturing industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can utilize new technology in the field of Chemical Manufacturing industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Chemical Manufacturing industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It 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.
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. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Threats Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore are -
Increasing wage structure of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore
– 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore.
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.
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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore.
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. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is facing in Chemical Manufacturing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore prominent markets.
Regulatory challenges
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Chemical Manufacturing sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.