KHD Humboldt Wedag Int (KHDHF) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for KHD Humboldt Wedag Int (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that KHD Humboldt Wedag Int can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the KHD Humboldt Wedag Int, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int
2. Improving business portfolio management of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int
Strengths of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – KHD Humboldt Wedag Int staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For KHD Humboldt Wedag Int digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
Organizational Resilience of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing KHD Humboldt Wedag Int does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int in the sector have low bargaining power. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps KHD Humboldt Wedag Int to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled KHD Humboldt Wedag Int in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int has one of the best training and development program in industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Strong track record of project management in the industry
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 recruit top talent
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is one of the leading players in the 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the 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.
Innovation driven organization
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int in industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but KHD Humboldt Wedag Int needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help KHD Humboldt Wedag Int to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int has high operating costs in the industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract KHD Humboldt Wedag Int lucrative customers.
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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left KHD Humboldt Wedag Int vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is just above the 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.
Need for greater diversity
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though KHD Humboldt Wedag Int has some of the most successful models in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help KHD Humboldt Wedag Int to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the industry, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is one of the leading players in the industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
KHD Humboldt Wedag Int Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the industry.
Developing new processes and practices
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int can develop new processes and procedures in industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for KHD Humboldt Wedag Int in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help KHD Humboldt Wedag Int to increase its market reach. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help KHD Humboldt Wedag Int to build a more holistic ecosystem for KHD Humboldt Wedag Int products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled KHD Humboldt Wedag Int to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help KHD Humboldt Wedag Int to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects KHD Humboldt Wedag Int can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
Threats KHD Humboldt Wedag Int External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int are -
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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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.
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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for KHD Humboldt Wedag Int in industry. The 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.
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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int in the sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that KHD Humboldt Wedag Int is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. KHD Humboldt Wedag Int needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents KHD Humboldt Wedag Int with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int prominent markets.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, KHD Humboldt Wedag Int may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of sector.
Regulatory challenges
– KHD Humboldt Wedag Int needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of KHD Humboldt Wedag Int Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int 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 KHD Humboldt Wedag Int needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
