Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables (603606) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Misc. Fabricated Products
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Misc. Fabricated Products sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables
Strengths of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables are -
Innovation driven organization
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables is one of the leading players in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Organizational Resilience of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables is present in almost all the verticals within the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This has provided Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables staying ahead in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables has high operating costs in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to provide better information regarding Misc. Fabricated Products products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, but Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to focus more on services in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Misc. Fabricated Products industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to increase its market reach. Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. Now Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Fabricated Products industry are lowering. It can presents Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Misc. Fabricated Products 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. Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables in the Misc. Fabricated Products sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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.
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. Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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. Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry and other sectors.
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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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
– Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables 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 Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.