Shandong Sinocera Func Material (300285) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Electronic Instr. & Controls
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shandong Sinocera Func Material (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shandong Sinocera Func Material is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shandong Sinocera Func Material
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shandong Sinocera Func Material can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shandong Sinocera Func Material, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shandong Sinocera Func Material
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shandong Sinocera Func Material
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Electronic Instr. & Controls sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shandong Sinocera Func Material
Strengths of Shandong Sinocera Func Material | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shandong Sinocera Func Material are -
Strong track record of project management in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Electronic Instr. & Controls
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material is one of the leading players in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Shandong Sinocera Func Material in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Organizational Resilience of Shandong Sinocera Func Material
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Shandong Sinocera Func Material does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shandong Sinocera Func Material to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shandong Sinocera Func Material to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Shandong Sinocera Func Material comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Electronic Instr. & Controls 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material is one of the leading players in the Electronic Instr. & Controls 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.
Training and development
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Learning organization
- Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Shandong Sinocera Func Material emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Analytics focus
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shandong Sinocera Func Material in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses of Shandong Sinocera Func Material | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shandong Sinocera Func Material are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Shandong Sinocera Func Material, in the dynamic environment of Electronic Instr. & Controls industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Shandong Sinocera Func Material has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Shandong Sinocera Func Material, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Shandong Sinocera Func Material needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ less understanding of Shandong Sinocera Func Material strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Shandong Sinocera Func Material is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, but Shandong Sinocera Func Material needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shandong Sinocera Func Material to focus more on services in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shandong Sinocera Func Material is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Shandong Sinocera Func Material to provide better information regarding Electronic Instr. & Controls products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls industry using digital technology.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Shandong Sinocera Func Material has high operating costs in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Shandong Sinocera Func Material lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shandong Sinocera Func Material has some of the most successful models in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Shandong Sinocera Func Material should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Shandong Sinocera Func Material Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shandong Sinocera Func Material are -
Buying journey improvements
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Electronic Instr. & Controls 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Shandong Sinocera Func Material to increase its market reach. Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Shandong Sinocera Func Material can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shandong Sinocera Func Material is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shandong Sinocera Func Material can utilize new technology in the field of Electronic Instr. & Controls industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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, Shandong Sinocera Func Material can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shandong Sinocera Func Material operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Electronic Instr. & Controls sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material can develop new processes and procedures in Electronic Instr. & Controls 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
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Electronic Instr. & Controls sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Shandong Sinocera Func Material to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shandong Sinocera Func Material to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shandong Sinocera Func Material in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Electronic Instr. & Controls industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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. Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Threats Shandong Sinocera Func Material External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shandong Sinocera Func Material are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Electronic Instr. & Controls industry are lowering. It can presents Shandong Sinocera Func Material with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Electronic Instr. & Controls sector.
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. Shandong Sinocera Func Material needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Electronic Instr. & Controls 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, Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material prominent markets.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shandong Sinocera Func Material is facing in Electronic Instr. & Controls sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material.
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.
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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Electronic Instr. & Controls industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shandong Sinocera Func Material can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls industry regulations.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Shandong Sinocera Func Material may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Electronic Instr. & Controls sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Electronic Instr. & Controls industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shandong Sinocera Func Material Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material 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 Shandong Sinocera Func Material needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
