Xingrong Invest A (598) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Water Utilities
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Xingrong Invest A (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Xingrong Invest A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Xingrong Invest A
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Xingrong Invest A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Xingrong Invest A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Xingrong Invest 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 Xingrong Invest A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Xingrong Invest A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Xingrong Invest A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Water Utilities sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Xingrong Invest A
Strengths of Xingrong Invest A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Xingrong Invest A are -
High brand equity
– Xingrong Invest A has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Xingrong Invest A to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– Xingrong Invest A 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 Xingrong Invest A
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Xingrong Invest A does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management in the Water Utilities industry
– Xingrong Invest A is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Water Utilities industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Xingrong Invest A digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Xingrong Invest 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Xingrong Invest A is one of the leading players in the Water 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Xingrong Invest A is one of the most innovative firm in Water Utilities sector.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Xingrong Invest A in Water Utilities industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Water Utilities
– Xingrong Invest A is one of the leading players in the Water Utilities industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Water Utilities industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Xingrong Invest A in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Xingrong Invest A comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Water Utilities 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Xingrong Invest A has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Xingrong Invest A staying ahead in the Water Utilities industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Xingrong Invest A has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Xingrong Invest A 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.
Weaknesses of Xingrong Invest A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Xingrong Invest A are -
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 Xingrong Invest A supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Xingrong Invest A is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Xingrong Invest A vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Xingrong Invest A has some of the most successful models in the Water Utilities industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Xingrong Invest A should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Xingrong Invest A needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Water Utilities industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Xingrong Invest A can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Xingrong Invest A is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Xingrong Invest A has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Water Utilities industry over the last five years. Xingrong Invest A 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Xingrong Invest A products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Xingrong Invest A needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Water Utilities industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Xingrong Invest A 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 Water Utilities industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Xingrong Invest A is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Water Utilities industry, but Xingrong Invest A needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Xingrong Invest A to focus more on services in the Water Utilities industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ less understanding of Xingrong Invest A strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Xingrong Invest A 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Water Utilities industry, Xingrong Invest A 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Xingrong Invest A needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Xingrong Invest A is just above the Water Utilities 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.
Xingrong Invest A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Xingrong Invest A are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Xingrong Invest A to increase its market reach. Xingrong Invest A 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Xingrong Invest 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.
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. Xingrong Invest A can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Xingrong Invest A has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Water Utilities sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Xingrong Invest A to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Xingrong Invest A to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Xingrong Invest A is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Xingrong Invest A can utilize new technology in the field of Water 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, Xingrong Invest 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Xingrong Invest A can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Water 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Xingrong Invest 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 Water Utilities industry.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Xingrong Invest 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 Xingrong Invest 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Xingrong Invest A can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Xingrong Invest A operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Water Utilities sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Water Utilities industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Xingrong Invest A can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Xingrong Invest 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Xingrong Invest A has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Water Utilities industry. This can help Xingrong Invest A to build a more holistic ecosystem for Xingrong Invest A products in the Water Utilities industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Xingrong Invest A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Xingrong Invest A are -
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Xingrong Invest A in the Water Utilities sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Water Utilities industry are lowering. It can presents Xingrong Invest A with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Water Utilities sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Xingrong Invest A may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Water Utilities sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Xingrong Invest 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Xingrong Invest A is facing in Water Utilities sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Xingrong Invest 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Xingrong Invest 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. Xingrong Invest A can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Water Utilities industry.
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 Xingrong Invest A.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Xingrong Invest 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 Water Utilities industry.
Increasing wage structure of Xingrong Invest 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 Xingrong Invest A.
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. Xingrong Invest A needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Water Utilities industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Xingrong Invest 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 Xingrong Invest A prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Xingrong Invest A Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Xingrong Invest 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 Xingrong Invest 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 Xingrong Invest 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 Xingrong Invest 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 Xingrong Invest A needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
