Zhejiang Mizuda A (2034) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Zhejiang Mizuda A (China)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Zhejiang Mizuda A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, 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, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Zhejiang Mizuda A

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Zhejiang Mizuda A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Zhejiang Mizuda A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Zhejiang Mizuda A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Zhejiang Mizuda A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Zhejiang Mizuda A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Trucking sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Zhejiang Mizuda A

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Strengths of Zhejiang Mizuda A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Zhejiang Mizuda A are -

Diverse revenue streams

– Zhejiang Mizuda A is present in almost all the verticals within the Trucking industry. This has provided Zhejiang Mizuda A a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Ability to lead change in Trucking

– Zhejiang Mizuda A is one of the leading players in the Trucking industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Trucking industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Zhejiang Mizuda A comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Trucking 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.

Analytics focus

– Zhejiang Mizuda A 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 Trucking 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.

Strong track record of project management in the Trucking industry

– Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

Learning organization

- Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Zhejiang Mizuda A is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Zhejiang Mizuda A emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Zhejiang Mizuda A is one of the leading players in the Trucking 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 switching costs

– The high switching costs that Zhejiang Mizuda A has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Zhejiang Mizuda A in the Transportation sector have low bargaining power. Zhejiang Mizuda A has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Zhejiang Mizuda A to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Training and development

– Zhejiang Mizuda A has one of the best training and development program in Transportation 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Zhejiang Mizuda A has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Trucking industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Zhejiang Mizuda A have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Zhejiang Mizuda A has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Zhejiang Mizuda A staying ahead in the Trucking industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

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Weaknesses of Zhejiang Mizuda A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Zhejiang Mizuda A are -

High bargaining power of channel partners in Trucking industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Trucking industry.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Zhejiang Mizuda A needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Trucking industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Zhejiang Mizuda A can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Zhejiang Mizuda A is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Trucking industry over the last five years. Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Zhejiang Mizuda A is just above the Trucking industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.

Lack of clear differentiation of Zhejiang Mizuda A products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Zhejiang Mizuda A needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Zhejiang Mizuda A, in the dynamic environment of Trucking industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Zhejiang Mizuda A has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of China, Zhejiang Mizuda A needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

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 Zhejiang Mizuda A supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Zhejiang Mizuda A is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Zhejiang Mizuda A vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Zhejiang Mizuda A is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Zhejiang Mizuda A to provide better information regarding Trucking products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Zhejiang Mizuda A has high operating costs in the Trucking industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Zhejiang Mizuda A lucrative customers.

Skills based hiring in Trucking industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

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Zhejiang Mizuda A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Zhejiang Mizuda A are -

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. Zhejiang Mizuda A can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Trucking industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

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 Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Zhejiang Mizuda A can develop new processes and procedures in Trucking industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Zhejiang Mizuda A can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Trucking 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 Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Trucking industry.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Zhejiang Mizuda A is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Zhejiang Mizuda A can utilize new technology in the field of Trucking industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Zhejiang Mizuda A has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Trucking industry. This can help Zhejiang Mizuda A to build a more holistic ecosystem for Zhejiang Mizuda A products in the Trucking industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Zhejiang Mizuda A can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Zhejiang Mizuda A operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Trucking sector.

Buying journey improvements

– Zhejiang Mizuda A can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Trucking 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

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Threats Zhejiang Mizuda A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Zhejiang Mizuda A are -

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Trucking industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Trucking industry and other sectors.

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. Zhejiang Mizuda A needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Trucking industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Regulatory challenges

– Zhejiang Mizuda A 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 Trucking industry regulations.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Trucking sector.

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 Zhejiang Mizuda A business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Zhejiang Mizuda 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. Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Zhejiang Mizuda A is facing in Trucking sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Trucking industry are lowering. It can presents Zhejiang Mizuda A with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Trucking sector.

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 Zhejiang Mizuda A in the Trucking sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Zhejiang Mizuda 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.

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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Zhejiang Mizuda A Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Zhejiang Mizuda 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 Zhejiang Mizuda A needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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