SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shri Ram Switchgears (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shri Ram Switchgears is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shri Ram Switchgears
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shri Ram Switchgears can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shri Ram Switchgears, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shri Ram Switchgears 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 Shri Ram Switchgears can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shri Ram Switchgears
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shri Ram Switchgears
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shri Ram Switchgears
Strengths of Shri Ram Switchgears | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shri Ram Switchgears are -
High brand equity
– Shri Ram Switchgears has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Shri Ram Switchgears to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Shri Ram Switchgears has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Shri Ram Switchgears staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shri Ram Switchgears is one of the leading players in the 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shri Ram Switchgears has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shri Ram Switchgears 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.
Organizational Resilience of Shri Ram Switchgears
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Shri Ram Switchgears does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Shri Ram Switchgears has one of the best training and development program in 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shri Ram Switchgears 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.
Strong track record of project management in the industry
– Shri Ram Switchgears is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shri Ram Switchgears digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shri Ram Switchgears 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Shri Ram Switchgears has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Shri Ram Switchgears have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shri Ram Switchgears in industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Shri Ram Switchgears is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided Shri Ram Switchgears 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 Shri Ram Switchgears | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shri Ram Switchgears are -
Employees’ less understanding of Shri Ram Switchgears strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Shri Ram Switchgears don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Shri Ram Switchgears 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shri Ram Switchgears has some of the most successful models in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Shri Ram Switchgears should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the industry, Shri Ram Switchgears 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shri Ram Switchgears is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Shri Ram Switchgears to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on Shri Ram Switchgears ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Shri Ram Switchgears still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Shri Ram Switchgears has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Shri Ram Switchgears is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but Shri Ram Switchgears needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shri Ram Switchgears to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Shri Ram Switchgears supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Shri Ram Switchgears is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Shri Ram Switchgears vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners in industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in India, Shri Ram Switchgears 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 industry.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Shri Ram Switchgears, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Shri Ram Switchgears has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Shri Ram Switchgears products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shri Ram Switchgears needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Shri Ram Switchgears Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shri Ram Switchgears are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shri Ram Switchgears 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, Shri Ram Switchgears is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shri Ram Switchgears can utilize new technology in the field of industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Shri Ram Switchgears can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in 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 industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Shri Ram Switchgears in the industry. Now Shri Ram Switchgears can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Shri Ram Switchgears 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 industry.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Shri Ram Switchgears has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help Shri Ram Switchgears to build a more holistic ecosystem for Shri Ram Switchgears products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Shri Ram Switchgears 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Shri Ram Switchgears can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shri Ram Switchgears operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shri Ram Switchgears has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Shri Ram Switchgears to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shri Ram Switchgears to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Shri Ram Switchgears 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 Shri Ram Switchgears to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Shri Ram Switchgears can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Shri Ram Switchgears can develop new processes and procedures in 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.
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 Shri Ram Switchgears 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.
Threats Shri Ram Switchgears External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shri Ram Switchgears are -
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. Shri Ram Switchgears 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.
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. Shri Ram Switchgears needs to understand the core reasons impacting the 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shri Ram Switchgears is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Shri Ram Switchgears.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Shri Ram Switchgears 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 Shri Ram Switchgears 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 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shri Ram Switchgears 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 industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Shri Ram Switchgears 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 industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shri Ram Switchgears has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shri Ram Switchgears needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the 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.
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 Shri Ram Switchgears business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Shri Ram Switchgears 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. Shri Ram Switchgears can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shri Ram Switchgears Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shri Ram Switchgears 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 Shri Ram Switchgears 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 Shri Ram Switchgears 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 Shri Ram Switchgears 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 Shri Ram Switchgears needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.