Qianhe Condiment and Food (603027) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Food Processing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Qianhe Condiment and Food (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Qianhe Condiment and Food is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Qianhe Condiment and Food
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Qianhe Condiment and Food can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Qianhe Condiment and Food, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Qianhe Condiment and Food
2. Improving business portfolio management of Qianhe Condiment and Food
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Food Processing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Qianhe Condiment and Food
Strengths of Qianhe Condiment and Food | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Qianhe Condiment and Food are -
Learning organization
- Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Qianhe Condiment and Food emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Food Processing industry
– Qianhe Condiment and Food has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Qianhe Condiment and Food to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Food Processing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Qianhe Condiment and Food to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Qianhe Condiment and Food is one of the most innovative firm in Food Processing sector.
Training and development
– Qianhe Condiment and Food has one of the best training and development program in Consumer/Non-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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Qianhe Condiment and Food has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Qianhe Condiment and Food staying ahead in the Food Processing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Food Processing
– Qianhe Condiment and Food is one of the leading players in the Food Processing industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Food Processing industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Food Processing 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.
High brand equity
– Qianhe Condiment and Food has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Qianhe Condiment and Food to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Digital Transformation in Food Processing industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Qianhe Condiment and Food digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Qianhe Condiment and Food in the Consumer/Non-Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Qianhe Condiment and Food has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Qianhe Condiment and Food to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of Qianhe Condiment and Food | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Qianhe Condiment and Food are -
Employees’ less understanding of Qianhe Condiment and Food strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Qianhe Condiment and Food products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Qianhe Condiment and Food needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Qianhe Condiment and Food has some of the most successful models in the Food Processing industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Qianhe Condiment and Food should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Qianhe Condiment and Food needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Qianhe Condiment and Food, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Food Processing 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Food Processing industry, Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Qianhe Condiment and Food has high operating costs in the Food Processing industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Qianhe Condiment and Food lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Qianhe Condiment and Food is just above the Food Processing 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.
High dependence on Qianhe Condiment and Food ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Qianhe Condiment and Food still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Food Processing industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Qianhe Condiment and Food has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Qianhe Condiment and Food Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Qianhe Condiment and Food 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. Qianhe Condiment and Food can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Qianhe Condiment and Food has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Food Processing industry. This can help Qianhe Condiment and Food to build a more holistic ecosystem for Qianhe Condiment and Food products in the Food Processing industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Food Processing industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Qianhe Condiment and Food to increase its market reach. Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Qianhe Condiment and Food has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Food Processing sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Qianhe Condiment and Food to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Qianhe Condiment and Food to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Food Processing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Qianhe Condiment and Food can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Food Processing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Qianhe Condiment and Food 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. Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Qianhe Condiment and Food is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Qianhe Condiment and Food can utilize new technology in the field of Food Processing industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Qianhe Condiment and Food 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
– Qianhe Condiment and Food can develop new processes and procedures in Food Processing 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
– Qianhe Condiment and Food can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Food Processing 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.
Threats Qianhe Condiment and Food External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Qianhe Condiment and Food are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Qianhe Condiment and Food has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Food Processing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Qianhe Condiment and Food needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Food Processing 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Food Processing industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food prominent markets.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Food Processing industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Food Processing industry are lowering. It can presents Qianhe Condiment and Food with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Food Processing sector.
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.
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
– Qianhe Condiment and Food 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.
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 Qianhe Condiment and Food business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Qianhe Condiment and Food is facing in Food Processing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Food Processing industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Qianhe Condiment and Food can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Qianhe Condiment and Food
– 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Qianhe Condiment and Food Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food 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 Qianhe Condiment and Food needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.