Zj Baoxiniao A (2154) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Apparel/Accessories
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Zj Baoxiniao A (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Zj Baoxiniao A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private 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%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Zj Baoxiniao A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Zj Baoxiniao A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Zj Baoxiniao A operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Zj Baoxiniao A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Zj Baoxiniao A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Zj Baoxiniao A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Apparel/Accessories sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Zj Baoxiniao A
Strengths of Zj Baoxiniao A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Zj Baoxiniao A are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Zj Baoxiniao A in Apparel/Accessories industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Zj Baoxiniao 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.
Learning organization
- Zj Baoxiniao 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 Zj Baoxiniao A is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Zj Baoxiniao A emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Apparel/Accessories industry
– Zj Baoxiniao A has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Zj Baoxiniao A to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Apparel/Accessories industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Zj Baoxiniao A to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Apparel/Accessories industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Zj Baoxiniao A digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Zj Baoxiniao A has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Strong track record of project management in the Apparel/Accessories industry
– Zj Baoxiniao 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Zj Baoxiniao A comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Zj Baoxiniao A is present in almost all the verticals within the Apparel/Accessories industry. This has provided Zj Baoxiniao 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Zj Baoxiniao A is one of the most innovative firm in Apparel/Accessories sector.
High brand equity
– Zj Baoxiniao A has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Zj Baoxiniao A to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Zj Baoxiniao A has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Zj Baoxiniao A has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to lead change in Apparel/Accessories
– Zj Baoxiniao A is one of the leading players in the Apparel/Accessories industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Apparel/Accessories industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Zj Baoxiniao A in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Zj Baoxiniao A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Zj Baoxiniao A are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Zj Baoxiniao A has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Apparel/Accessories industry using digital technology.
Lack of clear differentiation of Zj Baoxiniao A products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Zj Baoxiniao A needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Zj Baoxiniao A is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Apparel/Accessories industry, but Zj Baoxiniao A needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Zj Baoxiniao A to focus more on services in the Apparel/Accessories industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on Zj Baoxiniao A ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Zj Baoxiniao A still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Apparel/Accessories industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Zj Baoxiniao A has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ less understanding of Zj Baoxiniao A strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Zj Baoxiniao A 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Zj Baoxiniao A needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Zj Baoxiniao A has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Apparel/Accessories industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Skills based hiring in Apparel/Accessories industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Zj Baoxiniao 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Zj Baoxiniao A is just above the Apparel/Accessories 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Zj Baoxiniao A, in the dynamic environment of Apparel/Accessories industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Zj Baoxiniao A has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Zj Baoxiniao A needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Apparel/Accessories industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Zj Baoxiniao A can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Zj Baoxiniao A is planning to shift buying processes online.
Zj Baoxiniao A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Zj Baoxiniao A are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Zj Baoxiniao A can develop new processes and procedures in Apparel/Accessories 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Zj Baoxiniao 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.
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. Zj Baoxiniao A 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 Zj Baoxiniao A has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Apparel/Accessories industry. This can help Zj Baoxiniao A to build a more holistic ecosystem for Zj Baoxiniao A products in the Apparel/Accessories industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Zj Baoxiniao A has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Zj Baoxiniao 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 Apparel/Accessories 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 Zj Baoxiniao 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Zj Baoxiniao 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Apparel/Accessories industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Zj Baoxiniao A in the Apparel/Accessories industry. Now Zj Baoxiniao A can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Zj Baoxiniao 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Apparel/Accessories industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Zj Baoxiniao A 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. Zj Baoxiniao A 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Zj Baoxiniao A can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Zj Baoxiniao A operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Apparel/Accessories sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Zj Baoxiniao A can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Apparel/Accessories 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 Zj Baoxiniao A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Zj Baoxiniao A are -
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
– Zj Baoxiniao A has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Apparel/Accessories industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Zj Baoxiniao A needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Apparel/Accessories 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Zj Baoxiniao A needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Zj Baoxiniao A can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Apparel/Accessories industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Zj Baoxiniao A can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Apparel/Accessories industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Apparel/Accessories industry are lowering. It can presents Zj Baoxiniao A with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Apparel/Accessories 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 Zj Baoxiniao A.
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 Zj Baoxiniao A in the Apparel/Accessories 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. Zj Baoxiniao A needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Apparel/Accessories industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Zj Baoxiniao 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 Apparel/Accessories industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of Zj Baoxiniao 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 Zj Baoxiniao A.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Zj Baoxiniao 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Zj Baoxiniao 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 Apparel/Accessories sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Zj Baoxiniao A Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Zj Baoxiniao 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 Zj Baoxiniao 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 Zj Baoxiniao 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 Zj Baoxiniao 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 Zj Baoxiniao A needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.