SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Medical Equipment & Supplies sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared
Strengths of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared are -
Learning organization
- Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Medical Equipment & Supplies
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared is one of the leading players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared in the Healthcare sector have low bargaining power. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Training and development
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has one of the best training and development program in Healthcare 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared is one of the leading players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared staying ahead in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared are -
High dependence on Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Lack of clear differentiation of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, but Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared to focus more on services in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared is one of the leading players in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry over the last five years. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared to provide better information regarding Medical Equipment & Supplies products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This can help Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared to build a more holistic ecosystem for Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared products in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Medical Equipment & Supplies 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.
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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
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. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared to increase its market reach. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Threats Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Medical Equipment & Supplies industry are lowering. It can presents Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Medical Equipment & Supplies sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. The Medical Equipment & Supplies industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Medical Equipment & Supplies industry and other sectors.
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. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Medical Equipment & Supplies industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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.
Environmental challenges
– Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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. Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry.
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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared
– 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared 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 Hubei Jiuzhiyang Infrared needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.