Shanghai Baosight Software A (600845) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Software & Programming
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shanghai Baosight Software A (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shanghai Baosight Software A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shanghai Baosight Software A
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shanghai Baosight Software A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shanghai Baosight Software A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Shanghai Baosight Software A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shanghai Baosight Software A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shanghai Baosight Software A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Software & Programming sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shanghai Baosight Software A
Strengths of Shanghai Baosight Software A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shanghai Baosight Software A are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Software & Programming industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shanghai Baosight Software A digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Shanghai Baosight Software A has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Software & Programming industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Shanghai Baosight Software A have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Shanghai Baosight Software A comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Software & Programming 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
– Shanghai Baosight Software A is one of the most innovative firm in Software & Programming sector.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shanghai Baosight Software A is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming 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.
Learning organization
- Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Shanghai Baosight Software A is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Shanghai Baosight Software A emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Shanghai Baosight Software A in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Shanghai Baosight Software A has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shanghai Baosight Software A to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Software & Programming industry
– Shanghai Baosight Software A has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shanghai Baosight Software A to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Software & Programming industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shanghai Baosight Software A to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shanghai Baosight Software A in Software & Programming industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Software & Programming 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.
Weaknesses of Shanghai Baosight Software A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shanghai Baosight Software A are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Shanghai Baosight Software A is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Software & Programming industry, but Shanghai Baosight Software A needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shanghai Baosight Software A to focus more on services in the Software & Programming industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Shanghai Baosight Software A products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shanghai Baosight Software A needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shanghai Baosight Software A has some of the most successful models in the Software & Programming industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Shanghai Baosight Software A should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Shanghai Baosight Software A is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Software & Programming industry in last five years.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Shanghai Baosight Software A has high operating costs in the Software & Programming industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Shanghai Baosight Software A lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Shanghai Baosight Software A has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Software & Programming industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Shanghai Baosight Software A needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Software & Programming industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Shanghai Baosight Software A can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Shanghai Baosight Software A is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shanghai Baosight Software A is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Shanghai Baosight Software A to provide better information regarding Software & Programming products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Software & Programming industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
Shanghai Baosight Software A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shanghai Baosight Software A are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Shanghai Baosight Software A can develop new processes and procedures in Software & Programming 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Shanghai Baosight Software A has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Software & Programming industry. This can help Shanghai Baosight Software A to build a more holistic ecosystem for Shanghai Baosight Software A products in the Software & Programming industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Software & Programming industry.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Software & Programming industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shanghai Baosight Software A 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. Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shanghai Baosight Software A 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, Shanghai Baosight Software A is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shanghai Baosight Software A can utilize new technology in the field of Software & Programming industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Shanghai Baosight Software A can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Software & Programming 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Shanghai Baosight Software A can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Software & Programming 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shanghai Baosight Software A has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Software & Programming sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Shanghai Baosight Software A to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shanghai Baosight Software A to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Shanghai Baosight Software A to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Shanghai Baosight Software A to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shanghai Baosight Software A can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help Shanghai Baosight Software A to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Shanghai Baosight Software A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shanghai Baosight Software A are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Software & Programming industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Shanghai Baosight Software A 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. Shanghai Baosight Software A can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Software & Programming industry.
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 Shanghai Baosight Software A in the Software & Programming sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Shanghai Baosight Software A prominent markets.
Increasing wage structure of Shanghai Baosight Software A
– 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 Shanghai Baosight Software A.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Software & Programming industry are lowering. It can presents Shanghai Baosight Software A with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Software & Programming sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Software & Programming industry.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Software & Programming industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shanghai Baosight Software A 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. Shanghai Baosight Software A 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.
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 Shanghai Baosight Software A business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shanghai Baosight Software A in Software & Programming industry. The Software & Programming 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shanghai Baosight Software A Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Shanghai Baosight Software A 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 Shanghai Baosight Software A needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.