SinoCloud Group (SINL) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Computer Networks
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for SinoCloud Group (Singapore)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , SinoCloud Group is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that SinoCloud Group can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the SinoCloud Group, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which SinoCloud Group 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 SinoCloud Group can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of SinoCloud Group
2. Improving business portfolio management of SinoCloud Group
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Computer Networks sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of SinoCloud Group
Strengths of SinoCloud Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of SinoCloud Group are -
Strong track record of project management in the Computer Networks industry
– SinoCloud Group is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– SinoCloud Group has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Computer Networks industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of SinoCloud Group have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the SinoCloud Group 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.
Organizational Resilience of SinoCloud Group
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing SinoCloud Group does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– SinoCloud Group has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. SinoCloud Group 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.
High brand equity
– SinoCloud Group has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled SinoCloud Group to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that SinoCloud Group 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
- SinoCloud Group 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 SinoCloud Group is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at SinoCloud Group emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– SinoCloud Group is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Networks sector.
Ability to recruit top talent
– SinoCloud Group is one of the leading players in the Computer Networks industry in Singapore. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Singapore. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Computer Networks
– SinoCloud Group is one of the leading players in the Computer Networks industry in Singapore. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Computer Networks industry in Singapore but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled SinoCloud Group in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– SinoCloud Group has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – SinoCloud Group staying ahead in the Computer Networks industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses of SinoCloud Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SinoCloud Group are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, SinoCloud Group 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Singapore, SinoCloud Group needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Networks industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Singapore, SinoCloud Group 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 Computer Networks industry.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
SinoCloud Group has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Computer Networks 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 SinoCloud Group, in the dynamic environment of Computer Networks industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. SinoCloud Group has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, SinoCloud Group has high operating costs in the Computer Networks industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract SinoCloud Group lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though SinoCloud Group has some of the most successful models in the Computer Networks industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. SinoCloud Group should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of SinoCloud Group is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Computer Networks industry, but SinoCloud Group needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help SinoCloud Group to focus more on services in the Computer Networks industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SinoCloud Group is one of the leading players in the Computer Networks industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Networks industry in last five years.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of SinoCloud Group is just above the Computer Networks 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of SinoCloud Group, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Computer Networks 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.
SinoCloud Group Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of SinoCloud Group are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, SinoCloud Group can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that SinoCloud Group operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Networks sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for SinoCloud Group in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Networks industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Computer Networks industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for SinoCloud Group in the Computer Networks industry. Now SinoCloud Group can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– SinoCloud Group 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for SinoCloud Group 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects SinoCloud Group 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, SinoCloud Group is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. SinoCloud Group can utilize new technology in the field of Computer Networks industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of SinoCloud Group has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Networks industry. This can help SinoCloud Group to build a more holistic ecosystem for SinoCloud Group products in the Computer Networks industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– SinoCloud Group can develop new processes and procedures in Computer Networks 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Networks industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. SinoCloud Group 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. SinoCloud Group 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at SinoCloud Group 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 Computer Networks industry.
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 SinoCloud Group 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, SinoCloud Group 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.
Threats SinoCloud Group External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of SinoCloud Group are -
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 SinoCloud Group in the Computer Networks sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, SinoCloud Group may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Networks sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on SinoCloud Group 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 Computer Networks industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of SinoCloud Group
– 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 SinoCloud Group.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that SinoCloud Group is facing in Computer Networks sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– SinoCloud Group 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– SinoCloud Group has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Networks industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, SinoCloud Group needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Networks 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Computer Networks industry are lowering. It can presents SinoCloud Group with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Computer Networks sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Networks industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. SinoCloud Group can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for SinoCloud Group in Computer Networks industry. The Computer Networks 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, SinoCloud Group 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 SinoCloud Group prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SinoCloud Group Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at SinoCloud Group 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 SinoCloud Group 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 SinoCloud Group 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 SinoCloud Group 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 SinoCloud Group needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.