Xingquan Int Sports (XING) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Footwear
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Xingquan Int Sports (Malaysia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Xingquan Int Sports is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Xingquan Int Sports
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Xingquan Int Sports can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Xingquan Int Sports, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Xingquan Int Sports 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 Xingquan Int Sports can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Xingquan Int Sports
2. Improving business portfolio management of Xingquan Int Sports
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Malaysia
4. Making a Footwear sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Xingquan Int Sports
Strengths of Xingquan Int Sports | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Xingquan Int Sports are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Xingquan Int Sports in Footwear industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Xingquan Int Sports 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 Footwear industry. The technology infrastructure of Malaysia 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Footwear industry
– Xingquan Int Sports has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Xingquan Int Sports to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Footwear industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Xingquan Int Sports to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Xingquan Int Sports has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Xingquan Int Sports to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Xingquan Int Sports 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 Xingquan Int Sports is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Xingquan Int Sports emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Xingquan Int Sports has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Xingquan Int Sports staying ahead in the Footwear industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Xingquan Int Sports has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Xingquan Int Sports 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.
Digital Transformation in Footwear industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Xingquan Int Sports digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Xingquan Int Sports 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Footwear industry
– Xingquan Int Sports is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Footwear
– Xingquan Int Sports is one of the leading players in the Footwear industry in Malaysia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Footwear industry in Malaysia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Xingquan Int Sports in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Xingquan Int Sports is one of the most innovative firm in Footwear sector.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Xingquan Int Sports has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Footwear industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Xingquan Int Sports have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of Xingquan Int Sports | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Xingquan Int Sports are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Xingquan Int Sports is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Footwear industry, but Xingquan Int Sports needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Xingquan Int Sports to focus more on services in the Footwear industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Footwear industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Malaysia, Xingquan Int Sports 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 Footwear industry.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Xingquan Int Sports has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Footwear industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Xingquan Int Sports, in the dynamic environment of Footwear industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Xingquan Int Sports has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Xingquan Int Sports is just above the Footwear industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Xingquan Int Sports has some of the most successful models in the Footwear industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Xingquan Int Sports should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Xingquan Int Sports, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Footwear 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Xingquan Int Sports needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Footwear industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Xingquan Int Sports can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Xingquan Int Sports is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Xingquan Int Sports supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Xingquan Int Sports is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Xingquan Int Sports vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Malaysia, Xingquan Int Sports needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Xingquan Int Sports 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 Footwear industry using digital technology.
Xingquan Int Sports Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Xingquan Int Sports are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Xingquan Int Sports can develop new processes and procedures in Footwear 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Footwear industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Xingquan Int Sports can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Xingquan Int Sports in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Footwear industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Xingquan Int Sports can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Xingquan Int Sports operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Footwear sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Xingquan Int Sports has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Footwear sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Xingquan Int Sports to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Xingquan Int Sports 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, Xingquan Int Sports 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 Xingquan Int Sports to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Xingquan Int Sports can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Footwear 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 Xingquan Int Sports can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Xingquan Int Sports 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 Footwear industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Xingquan Int Sports 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. Xingquan Int Sports 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Xingquan Int Sports 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. Xingquan Int Sports can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Xingquan Int Sports 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 Footwear industry.
Threats Xingquan Int Sports External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Xingquan Int Sports are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Xingquan Int Sports may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Footwear sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Xingquan Int Sports 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 Footwear industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Footwear industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Xingquan Int Sports can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Xingquan Int Sports has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Footwear industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Xingquan Int Sports needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Footwear 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Xingquan Int Sports 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Xingquan Int Sports 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 Xingquan Int Sports prominent markets.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Xingquan Int Sports 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 Footwear industry.
Increasing wage structure of Xingquan Int Sports
– 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 Xingquan Int Sports.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Xingquan Int Sports in Footwear industry. The Footwear 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.
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. Xingquan Int Sports needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Footwear industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Xingquan Int Sports.
Environmental challenges
– Xingquan Int Sports 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. Xingquan Int Sports can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Footwear industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Xingquan Int Sports Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Xingquan Int Sports 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 Xingquan Int Sports 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 Xingquan Int Sports 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 Xingquan Int Sports 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 Xingquan Int Sports needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.