SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Surana Corp Ltd (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Surana Corp Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing energy prices, wage bills are increasing, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Surana Corp Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Surana Corp Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Surana Corp 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 Surana Corp Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Surana Corp Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Surana Corp Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Jewelry & Silverware sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Surana Corp Ltd
Strengths of Surana Corp Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Surana Corp Ltd are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Surana Corp Ltd 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Surana Corp Ltd is one of the leading players in the Jewelry & Silverware 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 Jewelry & Silverware industry
– Surana Corp Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Surana Corp Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Jewelry & Silverware industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Surana Corp Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Surana Corp 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 Surana Corp Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Surana Corp Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Surana Corp Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Jewelry & Silverware industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Surana Corp Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Surana Corp Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Surana Corp Ltd 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Surana Corp Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Jewelry & Silverware 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.
High brand equity
– Surana Corp Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Surana Corp Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Surana Corp Ltd in the Consumer Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Surana Corp Ltd has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Surana Corp Ltd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Surana Corp Ltd in Jewelry & Silverware industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Surana Corp Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Surana Corp Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Surana Corp Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Jewelry & Silverware industry. This has provided Surana Corp 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.
Weaknesses of Surana Corp Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Surana Corp Ltd are -
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Surana Corp Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Jewelry & Silverware industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Surana Corp Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Jewelry & Silverware industry, but Surana Corp Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Surana Corp Ltd to focus more on services in the Jewelry & Silverware industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Surana Corp Ltd has high operating costs in the Jewelry & Silverware industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Surana Corp Ltd lucrative customers.
High dependence on Surana Corp Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Surana Corp Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Jewelry & Silverware industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Surana Corp Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Surana Corp Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Jewelry & Silverware industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Surana Corp Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Jewelry & Silverware industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in India, Surana Corp Ltd 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 Jewelry & Silverware industry.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Surana Corp Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Jewelry & Silverware industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Surana Corp Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Surana Corp Ltd 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Surana Corp Ltd 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 Jewelry & Silverware industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Surana Corp Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Jewelry & Silverware industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Surana Corp Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Surana Corp Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Surana Corp 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.
Surana Corp Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Surana Corp Ltd are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Surana Corp Ltd to increase its market reach. Surana Corp Ltd 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Surana Corp Ltd 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 Corp Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Surana Corp Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Jewelry & Silverware sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Surana Corp Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Surana Corp Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Corp Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Surana Corp Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Jewelry & Silverware industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Surana Corp Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Jewelry & Silverware 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Surana Corp Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Jewelry & Silverware industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Surana Corp Ltd 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 Corp Ltd 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Jewelry & Silverware industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Surana Corp Ltd 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 Corp Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Jewelry & Silverware industry. This can help Surana Corp Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Surana Corp Ltd products in the Jewelry & Silverware industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Surana Corp Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Jewelry & Silverware 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 Surana Corp Ltd 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Surana Corp 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.
Threats Surana Corp Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Surana Corp Ltd are -
Regulatory challenges
– Surana Corp Ltd 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 Jewelry & Silverware industry regulations.
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 Corp Ltd.
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 Corp Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Corp Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Jewelry & Silverware industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Surana Corp 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. Surana Corp Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Jewelry & Silverware industry.
Increasing wage structure of Surana Corp 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 Surana Corp Ltd.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Jewelry & Silverware industry are lowering. It can presents Surana Corp Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Jewelry & Silverware 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 Corp Ltd in the Jewelry & Silverware sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Surana Corp Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Jewelry & Silverware industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Surana Corp Ltd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Jewelry & Silverware 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Surana Corp 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 Jewelry & Silverware industry and other sectors.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Surana Corp Ltd in Jewelry & Silverware industry. The Jewelry & Silverware 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Surana Corp Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Surana Corp 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 Surana Corp 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 Surana Corp 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 Surana Corp 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 Surana Corp Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.