Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd (883) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Electric Utilities
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Electric Utilities sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd
Strengths of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is one of the leading players in the Electric Utilities industry in China. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in China. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Electric Utilities industry. The technology infrastructure of China 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.
Learning organization
- Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Electric Utilities
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is one of the leading players in the Electric Utilities industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Electric Utilities industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd in Electric Utilities industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Electric Utilities industry. This has provided Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Electric Utilities sector.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd staying ahead in the Electric Utilities industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Electric Utilities industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management in the Electric Utilities industry
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Utilities 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.
Organizational Resilience of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Electric Utilities industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Electric Utilities industry, Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd to provide better information regarding Electric Utilities products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Electric Utilities industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Electric Utilities industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Electric Utilities industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Electric Utilities industry, but Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd to focus more on services in the Electric Utilities industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring in Electric Utilities industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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.
Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd to increase its market reach. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Electric Utilities 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Electric Utilities sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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, Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can utilize new technology in the field of Electric Utilities industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Electric Utilities sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Electric Utilities industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Electric Utilities 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Electric Utilities industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Electric Utilities industry. This can help Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd products in the Electric Utilities industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Electric Utilities 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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd in Electric Utilities industry. The Electric Utilities 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.
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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd.
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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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.
Environmental challenges
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Electric Utilities industry.
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.
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. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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.
Increasing wage structure of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd
– 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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Electric Utilities industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Electric Utilities industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Electric Utilities sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Electric Utilities industry regulations.
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. Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Electric Utilities industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd 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 Hubei Energy Group Co Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.