SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Hebei Sailhero Environmental (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Hebei Sailhero Environmental is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hebei Sailhero Environmental
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Hebei Sailhero Environmental can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hebei Sailhero Environmental, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Hebei Sailhero Environmental
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hebei Sailhero Environmental
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Scientific & Technical Instr. sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hebei Sailhero Environmental
Strengths of Hebei Sailhero Environmental | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hebei Sailhero Environmental are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hebei Sailhero Environmental in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Hebei Sailhero Environmental has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hebei Sailhero Environmental to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Scientific & Technical Instr.
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental is one of the leading players in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Hebei Sailhero Environmental in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Hebei Sailhero Environmental emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Hebei Sailhero Environmental staying ahead in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hebei Sailhero Environmental to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hebei Sailhero Environmental to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hebei Sailhero Environmental in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Digital Transformation in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hebei Sailhero Environmental digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
High brand equity
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hebei Sailhero Environmental to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Scientific & Technical Instr. industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Hebei Sailhero Environmental have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
Analytics focus
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Scientific & Technical Instr. 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.
Weaknesses of Hebei Sailhero Environmental | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hebei Sailhero Environmental are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
Skills based hiring in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hebei Sailhero Environmental is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry, but Hebei Sailhero Environmental needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hebei Sailhero Environmental to focus more on services in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on Hebei Sailhero Environmental ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Hebei Sailhero Environmental still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Hebei Sailhero Environmental has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Hebei Sailhero Environmental needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Hebei Sailhero Environmental can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hebei Sailhero Environmental is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Hebei Sailhero Environmental needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Scientific & Technical Instr. industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hebei Sailhero Environmental is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Hebei Sailhero Environmental to provide better information regarding Scientific & Technical Instr. products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Hebei Sailhero Environmental is just above the Scientific & Technical Instr. 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Hebei Sailhero Environmental has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Scientific & Technical Instr. 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, Hebei Sailhero Environmental has high operating costs in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Hebei Sailhero Environmental lucrative customers.
Hebei Sailhero Environmental Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Hebei Sailhero Environmental are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hebei Sailhero Environmental has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry. This can help Hebei Sailhero Environmental to build a more holistic ecosystem for Hebei Sailhero Environmental products in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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. Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
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. Hebei Sailhero Environmental can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hebei Sailhero Environmental can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hebei Sailhero Environmental to increase its market reach. Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hebei Sailhero Environmental is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Hebei Sailhero Environmental can utilize new technology in the field of Scientific & Technical Instr. industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental can develop new processes and procedures in Scientific & Technical Instr. 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Hebei Sailhero Environmental in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry. Now Hebei Sailhero Environmental can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Hebei Sailhero Environmental External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Hebei Sailhero Environmental are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Scientific & Technical Instr. industry.
Environmental challenges
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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. Hebei Sailhero Environmental can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Hebei Sailhero Environmental may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Scientific & Technical Instr. sector.
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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental.
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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental in the Scientific & Technical Instr. sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Hebei Sailhero Environmental needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Scientific & Technical Instr. industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Scientific & Technical Instr. industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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
– Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Scientific & Technical Instr. industry regulations.
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. Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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.
Increasing wage structure of Hebei Sailhero Environmental
– 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hebei Sailhero Environmental Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental 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 Hebei Sailhero Environmental needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.