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 – increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, 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 -
High brand equity
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
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.
Digital Transformation in Chemical Manufacturing industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Analytics focus
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Chemical Manufacturing 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.
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.
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.
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 -
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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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 bargaining power of channel partners in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in India, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry.
Need for greater diversity
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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.
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.
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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore lucrative customers.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to increase its market reach. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Chemical Manufacturing sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. Now Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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.
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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Chemical Manufacturing sector.
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 -
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 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 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Chemical Manufacturing industry are lowering. It can presents Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Chemical Manufacturing sector.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore in the Chemical Manufacturing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore in Chemical Manufacturing industry. The Chemical Manufacturing 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.
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.
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. Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fertilisers Chemicals Travancore 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.
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.