SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment
2. Improving business portfolio management of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Apparel/Accessories sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment
Strengths of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment are -
Organizational Resilience of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment in Apparel/Accessories industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Apparel/Accessories industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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.
Training and development
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment has one of the best training and development program in Consumer Cyclical 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Apparel/Accessories industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment is one of the leading players in the Apparel/Accessories 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.
High brand equity
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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.
Innovation driven organization
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment is one of the most innovative firm in Apparel/Accessories sector.
Learning organization
- BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment in the Consumer Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment has some of the most successful models in the Apparel/Accessories industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment is just above the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Apparel/Accessories industry, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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.
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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Apparel/Accessories industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment has high operating costs in the Apparel/Accessories industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Apparel/Accessories industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 Apparel/Accessories industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Apparel/Accessories 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.
BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment are -
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Apparel/Accessories industry. This can help BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment to build a more holistic ecosystem for BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment products in the Apparel/Accessories industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Apparel/Accessories industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Apparel/Accessories industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment in the Apparel/Accessories industry. Now BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Apparel/Accessories industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can utilize new technology in the field of Apparel/Accessories industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
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. BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 Apparel/Accessories industry.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Apparel/Accessories sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment are -
Increasing wage structure of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment
– 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment.
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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment prominent markets.
Regulatory challenges
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 Apparel/Accessories industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Apparel/Accessories industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment in the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 Apparel/Accessories industry.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Apparel/Accessories sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 Apparel/Accessories industry are lowering. It can presents BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Apparel/Accessories sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 Apparel/Accessories industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment 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 BIEM.L .FDLKK Garment needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.