China Xuefeng Environmental Eng (CXEE) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Retail (Catalog & Mail Order)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for China Xuefeng Environmental Eng (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , China Xuefeng Environmental Eng is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the China Xuefeng Environmental Eng, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng
2. Improving business portfolio management of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng
Strengths of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng are -
Digital Transformation in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For China Xuefeng Environmental Eng digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 lead change in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order)
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng is one of the leading players in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled China Xuefeng Environmental Eng in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing China Xuefeng Environmental Eng does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled China Xuefeng Environmental Eng to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped China Xuefeng Environmental Eng to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng is one of the leading players in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry. The technology infrastructure of United States 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – China Xuefeng Environmental Eng staying ahead in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
Innovation driven organization
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng is one of the most innovative firm in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) sector.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng in the Services sector have low bargaining power. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps China Xuefeng Environmental Eng to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has some of the most successful models in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at China Xuefeng Environmental Eng, in the dynamic environment of Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that China Xuefeng Environmental Eng needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as China Xuefeng Environmental Eng is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ less understanding of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Lack of clear differentiation of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left China Xuefeng Environmental Eng vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry using digital technology.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng is just above the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry.
China Xuefeng Environmental Eng Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng are -
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. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry. This can help China Xuefeng Environmental Eng to build a more holistic ecosystem for China Xuefeng Environmental Eng products in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for China Xuefeng Environmental Eng in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can utilize new technology in the field of Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for China Xuefeng Environmental Eng in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry. Now China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help China Xuefeng Environmental Eng to increase its market reach. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled China Xuefeng Environmental Eng to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help China Xuefeng Environmental Eng to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
Manufacturing automation
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) 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.
Threats China Xuefeng Environmental Eng External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry are lowering. It can presents China Xuefeng Environmental Eng with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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.
Environmental challenges
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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. China Xuefeng Environmental Eng can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for China Xuefeng Environmental Eng in Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry. The Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng prominent markets.
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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, China Xuefeng Environmental Eng may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) sector.
Regulatory challenges
– China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 Retail (Catalog & Mail Order) industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of China Xuefeng Environmental Eng Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng 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 China Xuefeng Environmental Eng needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.