SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Yinda Infocomm (Singapore)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Yinda Infocomm is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, 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 Yinda Infocomm can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Yinda Infocomm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Yinda Infocomm 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 Yinda Infocomm can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Yinda Infocomm
2. Improving business portfolio management of Yinda Infocomm
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Communications Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Yinda Infocomm
Strengths of Yinda Infocomm | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Yinda Infocomm are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Yinda Infocomm comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Communications 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.
Ability to lead change in Communications Services
– Yinda Infocomm is one of the leading players in the Communications Services industry in Singapore. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Communications Services industry in Singapore but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Yinda Infocomm in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Yinda Infocomm 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 Communications Services industry. The technology infrastructure of Singapore 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.
High brand equity
– Yinda Infocomm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Yinda Infocomm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Yinda Infocomm 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.
Learning organization
- Yinda Infocomm 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 Yinda Infocomm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Yinda Infocomm emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Yinda Infocomm in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Yinda Infocomm has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Yinda Infocomm to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management in the Communications Services industry
– Yinda Infocomm is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Yinda Infocomm is present in almost all the verticals within the Communications Services industry. This has provided Yinda Infocomm 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.
Training and development
– Yinda Infocomm has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Yinda Infocomm has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Communications Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Yinda Infocomm have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Yinda Infocomm has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Yinda Infocomm 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.
Weaknesses of Yinda Infocomm | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Yinda Infocomm are -
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 Yinda Infocomm supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Yinda Infocomm is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Yinda Infocomm vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Yinda Infocomm is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Yinda Infocomm to provide better information regarding Communications Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Yinda Infocomm products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Yinda Infocomm needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Communications Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Singapore, Yinda Infocomm 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 Communications Services industry.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Yinda Infocomm has high operating costs in the Communications Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Yinda Infocomm lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Yinda Infocomm 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Yinda Infocomm 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 Communications Services industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Yinda Infocomm 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Yinda Infocomm is one of the leading players in the Communications Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Communications Services industry in last five years.
Employees’ less understanding of Yinda Infocomm strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Yinda Infocomm 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Singapore, Yinda Infocomm needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Yinda Infocomm Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Yinda Infocomm are -
Buying journey improvements
– Yinda Infocomm can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Communications Services 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Yinda Infocomm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Communications Services industry. This can help Yinda Infocomm to build a more holistic ecosystem for Yinda Infocomm products in the Communications Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Yinda Infocomm 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Yinda Infocomm has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Communications Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Yinda Infocomm to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Yinda Infocomm to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Yinda Infocomm can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Yinda Infocomm operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communications Services sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Yinda Infocomm is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Yinda Infocomm can utilize new technology in the field of Communications Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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 Yinda Infocomm 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Yinda Infocomm 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 Communications Services industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Yinda Infocomm to increase its market reach. Yinda Infocomm 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Yinda Infocomm 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Yinda Infocomm in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communications Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Yinda Infocomm can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Yinda Infocomm can develop new processes and procedures in Communications 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.
Threats Yinda Infocomm External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Yinda Infocomm are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Yinda Infocomm 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Communications Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Yinda Infocomm can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Yinda Infocomm may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communications Services 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Communications Services industry are lowering. It can presents Yinda Infocomm with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Communications Services sector.
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.
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 Yinda Infocomm business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Yinda Infocomm 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 Communications Services industry and other sectors.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Yinda Infocomm is facing in Communications Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Yinda Infocomm 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. Yinda Infocomm can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Communications Services industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Yinda Infocomm 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 Communications Services industry.
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. Yinda Infocomm needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communications Services 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 Yinda Infocomm.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Yinda Infocomm Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Yinda Infocomm 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 Yinda Infocomm 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 Yinda Infocomm 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 Yinda Infocomm 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 Yinda Infocomm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.