A2z Infra Engineering (A2ZI) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for A2z Infra Engineering (India)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , A2z Infra Engineering is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, 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, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of A2z Infra Engineering

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that A2z Infra Engineering can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the A2z Infra Engineering, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which A2z Infra Engineering 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of A2z Infra Engineering can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of A2z Infra Engineering
2. Improving business portfolio management of A2z Infra Engineering
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Construction Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of A2z Infra Engineering

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Strengths of A2z Infra Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of A2z Infra Engineering are -

Strong track record of project management in the Construction Services industry

– A2z Infra Engineering is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Organizational Resilience of A2z Infra Engineering

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing A2z Infra Engineering does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of A2z Infra Engineering in the Capital Goods sector have low bargaining power. A2z Infra Engineering has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps A2z Infra Engineering to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of A2z Infra Engineering comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Construction Services 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of A2z Infra Engineering in Construction Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– A2z Infra Engineering is present in almost all the verticals within the Construction Services industry. This has provided A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– A2z Infra Engineering has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– A2z Infra Engineering has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Construction Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of A2z Infra Engineering have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Training and development

– A2z Infra Engineering has one of the best training and development program in Capital Goods 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.

High brand equity

– A2z Infra Engineering has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled A2z Infra Engineering to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Learning organization

- A2z Infra Engineering 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 A2z Infra Engineering is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at A2z Infra Engineering emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Construction Services industry

– A2z Infra Engineering has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled A2z Infra Engineering to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Construction Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped A2z Infra Engineering to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

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Weaknesses of A2z Infra Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of A2z Infra Engineering are -

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, A2z Infra Engineering has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Construction Services industry over the last five years. A2z Infra Engineering 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, A2z Infra Engineering has high operating costs in the Construction Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract A2z Infra Engineering lucrative customers.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that A2z Infra Engineering needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Construction Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at A2z Infra Engineering can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as A2z Infra Engineering is planning to shift buying processes online.

Skills based hiring in Construction Services industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, A2z Infra Engineering 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 Construction Services industry using digital technology.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Construction Services industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in India, A2z Infra Engineering 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 Construction Services industry.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the Construction Services industry, A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Need for greater diversity

– A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of A2z Infra Engineering is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Construction Services industry, but A2z Infra Engineering needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help A2z Infra Engineering to focus more on services in the Construction Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Lack of clear differentiation of A2z Infra Engineering products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, A2z Infra Engineering needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

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A2z Infra Engineering Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of A2z Infra Engineering are -

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Construction Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. A2z Infra Engineering 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. A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, A2z Infra Engineering can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that A2z Infra Engineering operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Construction Services sector.

Developing new processes and practices

– A2z Infra Engineering can develop new processes and procedures in Construction Services 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for A2z Infra Engineering 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.

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. A2z Infra Engineering can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for A2z Infra Engineering 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 A2z Infra Engineering to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at A2z Infra Engineering 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 Construction Services industry.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Construction Services industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for A2z Infra Engineering in the Construction Services industry. Now A2z Infra Engineering can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– A2z Infra Engineering has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Construction Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled A2z Infra Engineering to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help A2z Infra Engineering to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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 A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects A2z Infra Engineering can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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Threats A2z Infra Engineering External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of A2z Infra Engineering are -

Regulatory challenges

– A2z Infra Engineering 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 Construction Services industry regulations.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for A2z Infra Engineering in Construction Services industry. The Construction Services 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– A2z Infra Engineering 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 Construction Services industry.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– A2z Infra Engineering 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, A2z Infra Engineering may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Construction Services sector.

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. A2z Infra Engineering needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Construction Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Construction Services industry are lowering. It can presents A2z Infra Engineering with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Construction Services sector.

Environmental challenges

– A2z Infra Engineering 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. A2z Infra Engineering can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Construction Services 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that A2z Infra Engineering is facing in Construction Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 A2z Infra Engineering business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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 A2z Infra Engineering in the Construction Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Consumer confidence and its impact on A2z Infra Engineering 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 Construction Services industry and other sectors.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of A2z Infra Engineering Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at A2z Infra Engineering 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 A2z Infra Engineering 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 A2z Infra Engineering 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 A2z Infra Engineering 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 A2z Infra Engineering needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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