Surana Solar (SURN) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Semiconductors
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Surana Solar (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Surana Solar is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Surana Solar can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Surana Solar, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Surana Solar 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 Surana Solar can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Surana Solar
2. Improving business portfolio management of Surana Solar
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Semiconductors sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Surana Solar
Strengths of Surana Solar | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Surana Solar are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Surana Solar has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Surana Solar staying ahead in the Semiconductors industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Semiconductors industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Surana Solar digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Surana Solar 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Surana Solar 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Semiconductors industry
– Surana Solar has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Surana Solar to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Semiconductors industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Surana Solar to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Surana Solar is one of the most innovative firm in Semiconductors sector.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Surana Solar has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Surana Solar 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Surana Solar is present in almost all the verticals within the Semiconductors industry. This has provided Surana Solar 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Surana Solar in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Surana Solar has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Surana Solar to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Surana Solar is one of the leading players in the Semiconductors 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.
Ability to lead change in Semiconductors
– Surana Solar is one of the leading players in the Semiconductors industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Semiconductors industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Surana Solar in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Surana Solar
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Surana Solar does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Surana Solar in Semiconductors industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses of Surana Solar | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Surana Solar are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Surana Solar 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 Semiconductors industry, Surana Solar 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 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 Surana Solar supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Surana Solar is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Surana Solar vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Surana Solar needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Semiconductors industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Surana Solar can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Surana Solar is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Surana Solar is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Surana Solar to provide better information regarding Semiconductors products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Surana Solar, in the dynamic environment of Semiconductors industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Surana Solar has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on Surana Solar ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Surana Solar still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Semiconductors industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Surana Solar has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Surana Solar is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Semiconductors industry, but Surana Solar needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Surana Solar to focus more on services in the Semiconductors industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Surana Solar has high operating costs in the Semiconductors industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Surana Solar lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of India, Surana Solar needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Surana Solar 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.
Surana Solar Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Surana Solar are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Surana Solar can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Surana Solar is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Surana Solar can utilize new technology in the field of Semiconductors industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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. Surana Solar can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Surana Solar can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Semiconductors 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Surana Solar 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 Surana Solar to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Surana Solar 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Surana Solar 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Semiconductors industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Surana Solar 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. Surana Solar 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Surana Solar 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 Surana Solar to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Surana Solar to increase its market reach. Surana Solar 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Surana Solar can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Semiconductors sector. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Semiconductors industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Surana Solar can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Surana Solar has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Semiconductors industry. This can help Surana Solar to build a more holistic ecosystem for Surana Solar products in the Semiconductors industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Surana Solar External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Surana Solar are -
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. Surana Solar needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Semiconductors 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, Surana Solar may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Semiconductors sector.
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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Surana Solar 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 Surana Solar prominent markets.
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 Surana Solar.
Increasing wage structure of Surana Solar
– 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 Surana Solar.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Surana Solar in Semiconductors industry. The Semiconductors 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.
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 Surana Solar business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Surana Solar 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Surana Solar 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 Semiconductors industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Semiconductors industry are lowering. It can presents Surana Solar with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Semiconductors sector.
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 Surana Solar in the Semiconductors sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Surana Solar Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Surana Solar 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 Surana Solar 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 Surana Solar 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 Surana Solar 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 Surana Solar needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.