SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for TVS Srichakra Ltd (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , TVS Srichakra Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of TVS Srichakra Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that TVS Srichakra Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the TVS Srichakra Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of TVS Srichakra Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of TVS Srichakra Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Tires sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of TVS Srichakra Ltd
Strengths of TVS Srichakra Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of TVS Srichakra Ltd are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of TVS Srichakra Ltd in Tires industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of TVS Srichakra Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Tires 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.
Ability to lead change in Tires
– TVS Srichakra Ltd is one of the leading players in the Tires industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Tires industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled TVS Srichakra Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 Tires 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– TVS Srichakra Ltd is one of the leading players in the Tires 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Tires industry
– TVS Srichakra Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled TVS Srichakra Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Tires industry. The sustainable margins have also helped TVS Srichakra Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Tires industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For TVS Srichakra Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
High brand equity
– TVS Srichakra Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled TVS Srichakra Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at TVS Srichakra Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– TVS Srichakra Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Tires industry. This has provided TVS Srichakra Ltd 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)
– TVS Srichakra Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – TVS Srichakra Ltd staying ahead in the Tires industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– TVS Srichakra Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Tires industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of TVS Srichakra Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of TVS Srichakra Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, TVS Srichakra Ltd is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left TVS Srichakra Ltd vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in Tires industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, TVS Srichakra Ltd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help TVS Srichakra Ltd to provide better information regarding Tires products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of India, TVS Srichakra Ltd needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of TVS Srichakra Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 Tires industry, TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, TVS Srichakra Ltd has high operating costs in the Tires industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract TVS Srichakra Ltd lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of TVS Srichakra Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Tires industry, but TVS Srichakra Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help TVS Srichakra Ltd to focus more on services in the Tires industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though TVS Srichakra Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Tires industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. TVS Srichakra Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, TVS Srichakra Ltd has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Tires industry over the last five years. TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
TVS Srichakra Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of TVS Srichakra Ltd are -
Loyalty marketing
– TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
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. TVS Srichakra Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, TVS Srichakra Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that TVS Srichakra Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Tires sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 Tires industry.
Manufacturing automation
– TVS Srichakra Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Tires 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– TVS Srichakra Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Tires sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled TVS Srichakra Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help TVS Srichakra Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Tires industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for TVS Srichakra Ltd in the Tires industry. Now TVS Srichakra Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– TVS Srichakra Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Tires 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of TVS Srichakra Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Tires industry. This can help TVS Srichakra Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for TVS Srichakra Ltd products in the Tires industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– TVS Srichakra Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Tires 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.
Threats TVS Srichakra Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of TVS Srichakra Ltd are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 Tires industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Tires industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. TVS Srichakra Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– TVS Srichakra Ltd 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. TVS Srichakra Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Tires 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 wage structure of TVS Srichakra Ltd
– 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd.
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. TVS Srichakra Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Tires industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, TVS Srichakra Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Tires sector.
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 TVS Srichakra Ltd.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd prominent markets.
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. TVS Srichakra Ltd 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.
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 TVS Srichakra Ltd in the Tires sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– TVS Srichakra Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Tires industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, TVS Srichakra Ltd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Tires 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd 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 TVS Srichakra Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.