SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for TianJin 712 (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , TianJin 712 is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that TianJin 712 can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the TianJin 712, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which TianJin 712 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 TianJin 712 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of TianJin 712
2. Improving business portfolio management of TianJin 712
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Communications Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of TianJin 712
Strengths of TianJin 712 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of TianJin 712 are -
High brand equity
– TianJin 712 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled TianJin 712 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of TianJin 712
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing TianJin 712 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– TianJin 712 has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Communications Equipment industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of TianJin 712 have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Communications Equipment
– TianJin 712 is one of the leading players in the Communications Equipment industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Communications Equipment industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled TianJin 712 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– TianJin 712 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 Communications Equipment 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.
Training and development
– TianJin 712 has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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.
Digital Transformation in Communications Equipment industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For TianJin 712 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. TianJin 712 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– TianJin 712 has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – TianJin 712 staying ahead in the Communications Equipment industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Communications Equipment industry
– TianJin 712 has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled TianJin 712 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Communications Equipment industry. The sustainable margins have also helped TianJin 712 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of TianJin 712 in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. TianJin 712 has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps TianJin 712 to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– TianJin 712 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. TianJin 712 has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Diverse revenue streams
– TianJin 712 is present in almost all the verticals within the Communications Equipment industry. This has provided TianJin 712 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.
Weaknesses of TianJin 712 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of TianJin 712 are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Communications Equipment industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, TianJin 712 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 Communications Equipment industry.
Employees’ less understanding of TianJin 712 strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of TianJin 712 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, TianJin 712 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, TianJin 712 has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Communications Equipment industry over the last five years. TianJin 712 even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of TianJin 712 is just above the Communications Equipment 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of TianJin 712 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, TianJin 712 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that TianJin 712 needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Communications Equipment industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at TianJin 712 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as TianJin 712 is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of TianJin 712 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Communications Equipment industry, but TianJin 712 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help TianJin 712 to focus more on services in the Communications Equipment industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on TianJin 712 ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of TianJin 712 still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Communications Equipment industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though TianJin 712 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, TianJin 712 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help TianJin 712 to provide better information regarding Communications Equipment products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As TianJin 712 is one of the leading players in the Communications Equipment industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Communications Equipment industry in last five years.
TianJin 712 Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of TianJin 712 are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Communications Equipment industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. TianJin 712 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. TianJin 712 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help TianJin 712 to increase its market reach. TianJin 712 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects TianJin 712 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of TianJin 712 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Communications Equipment industry. This can help TianJin 712 to build a more holistic ecosystem for TianJin 712 products in the Communications Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– TianJin 712 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, TianJin 712 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that TianJin 712 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Communications Equipment sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, TianJin 712 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Communications Equipment industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for TianJin 712 in the Communications Equipment industry. Now TianJin 712 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, TianJin 712 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 TianJin 712 to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for TianJin 712 in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Communications Equipment industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– TianJin 712 can develop new processes and procedures in Communications Equipment 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.
Manufacturing automation
– TianJin 712 can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Communications Equipment 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
– TianJin 712 has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Communications Equipment sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled TianJin 712 to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help TianJin 712 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats TianJin 712 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of TianJin 712 are -
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.
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. TianJin 712 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Communications Equipment industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Communications Equipment industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. TianJin 712 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 TianJin 712 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, TianJin 712 may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Communications Equipment sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– TianJin 712 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.
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 TianJin 712 in the Communications Equipment sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for TianJin 712 in Communications Equipment industry. The Communications Equipment 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.
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. TianJin 712 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on TianJin 712 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 Communications Equipment industry and other sectors.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that TianJin 712 is facing in Communications Equipment sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Communications Equipment industry are lowering. It can presents TianJin 712 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Communications Equipment sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of TianJin 712 Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at TianJin 712 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 TianJin 712 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 TianJin 712 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 TianJin 712 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 TianJin 712 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
