Shenzhen Seg A (58) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Retail (Technology)
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shenzhen Seg A (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shenzhen Seg A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shenzhen Seg A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shenzhen Seg A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shenzhen Seg 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 Shenzhen Seg A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shenzhen Seg A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shenzhen Seg A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Retail (Technology) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shenzhen Seg A
Strengths of Shenzhen Seg A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shenzhen Seg A are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shenzhen Seg A are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Shenzhen Seg A has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Retail (Technology) industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Shenzhen Seg A have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shenzhen Seg A in Retail (Technology) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Shenzhen Seg A in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Shenzhen Seg A has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shenzhen Seg A to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management in the Retail (Technology) industry
– Shenzhen Seg 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Retail (Technology) industry
– Shenzhen Seg A has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shenzhen Seg A to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Retail (Technology) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shenzhen Seg A to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Shenzhen Seg A has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Shenzhen Seg A is one of the most innovative firm in Retail (Technology) sector.
Learning organization
- Shenzhen Seg A is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Shenzhen Seg A is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Shenzhen Seg A emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shenzhen Seg A has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shenzhen Seg 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.
Digital Transformation in Retail (Technology) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shenzhen Seg A digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shenzhen Seg 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 lead change in Retail (Technology)
– Shenzhen Seg A is one of the leading players in the Retail (Technology) industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Retail (Technology) industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Shenzhen Seg A in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Shenzhen Seg A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shenzhen Seg A are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Shenzhen Seg A products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shenzhen Seg A needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring in Retail (Technology) industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Shenzhen Seg A has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Shenzhen Seg A has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Shenzhen Seg A, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Retail (Technology) 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Shenzhen Seg A has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Retail (Technology) industry using digital technology.
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 Shenzhen Seg A supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Shenzhen Seg A is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Shenzhen Seg A vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Shenzhen Seg A, in the dynamic environment of Retail (Technology) industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Shenzhen Seg A has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shenzhen Seg A has some of the most successful models in the Retail (Technology) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Shenzhen Seg A should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Shenzhen Seg A is one of the leading players in the Retail (Technology) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Retail (Technology) industry in last five years.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shenzhen Seg A is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Shenzhen Seg A to provide better information regarding Retail (Technology) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Shenzhen Seg 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 Retail (Technology) industry over the last five years. Shenzhen Seg 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.
Shenzhen Seg A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shenzhen Seg A are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shenzhen Seg A in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Retail (Technology) industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Shenzhen Seg 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 Retail (Technology) industry.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Shenzhen Seg A to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Shenzhen Seg A to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Shenzhen Seg A can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Shenzhen Seg A can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Retail (Technology) 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shenzhen Seg 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 Shenzhen Seg 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.
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 Shenzhen Seg A 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Shenzhen Seg A can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Retail (Technology) 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Shenzhen Seg A 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Retail (Technology) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Shenzhen Seg A in the Retail (Technology) industry. Now Shenzhen Seg A can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Shenzhen Seg A to increase its market reach. Shenzhen Seg 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shenzhen Seg A can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Shenzhen Seg A can develop new processes and procedures in Retail (Technology) 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.
Threats Shenzhen Seg A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shenzhen Seg A are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shenzhen Seg A in Retail (Technology) industry. The Retail (Technology) 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shenzhen Seg A is facing in Retail (Technology) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Shenzhen Seg 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. Shenzhen Seg A can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Retail (Technology) industry.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shenzhen Seg A has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Retail (Technology) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shenzhen Seg A needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Retail (Technology) sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shenzhen Seg 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 Shenzhen Seg A prominent markets.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shenzhen Seg 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 Retail (Technology) industry.
Increasing wage structure of Shenzhen Seg 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 Shenzhen Seg A.
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. Shenzhen Seg 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Shenzhen Seg 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Retail (Technology) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shenzhen Seg A can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Shenzhen Seg A demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Retail (Technology) industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shenzhen Seg A Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shenzhen Seg 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 Shenzhen Seg 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 Shenzhen Seg 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 Shenzhen Seg 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 Shenzhen Seg A needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.