Jiangsu Lianyungang Port (601008) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Jiangsu Lianyungang Port (China)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, etc

---

---

---

---

Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Jiangsu Lianyungang Port can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jiangsu Lianyungang Port, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Misc. Transportation sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port

---

Strengths of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port are -

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port in the Transportation sector have low bargaining power. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Jiangsu Lianyungang Port to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation 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.

Strong track record of project management in the Misc. Transportation industry

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

High brand equity

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Jiangsu Lianyungang Port to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Learning organization

- Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Jiangsu Lianyungang Port emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Transportation industry

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Jiangsu Lianyungang Port to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Transportation industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Jiangsu Lianyungang Port to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Analytics focus

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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. Transportation 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.

Digital Transformation in Misc. Transportation industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Jiangsu Lianyungang Port digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Transportation 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.

Training and development

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has one of the best training and development program in Transportation 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 lead change in Misc. Transportation

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Transportation industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Jiangsu Lianyungang Port in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port in Misc. Transportation industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

---

---

Weaknesses of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of China, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Jiangsu Lianyungang Port vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is just above the Misc. Transportation 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.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Jiangsu Lianyungang Port to provide better information regarding Misc. Transportation products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Misc. Transportation industry over the last five years. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

High dependence on Jiangsu Lianyungang Port ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Transportation industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

No frontier risks strategy

– From the 10K / annual statement of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Misc. Transportation 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Transportation industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Need for greater diversity

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has high operating costs in the Misc. Transportation industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Jiangsu Lianyungang Port lucrative customers.

---

Jiangsu Lianyungang Port Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port are -

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Loyalty marketing

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Transportation 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Jiangsu Lianyungang Port to increase its market reach. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Misc. Transportation industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 Misc. Transportation industry.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Jiangsu Lianyungang Port can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Transportation industry. This can help Jiangsu Lianyungang Port to build a more holistic ecosystem for Jiangsu Lianyungang Port products in the Misc. Transportation industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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. Transportation industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Jiangsu Lianyungang Port operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Transportation sector.

---

Threats Jiangsu Lianyungang Port External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port are -

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Misc. Transportation industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Transportation industry are lowering. It can presents Jiangsu Lianyungang Port with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Transportation sector.

Regulatory challenges

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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. Transportation industry regulations.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Jiangsu Lianyungang Port is facing in Misc. Transportation sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Transportation industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Transportation 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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. Transportation 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port prominent markets.

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. Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Jiangsu Lianyungang Port in Misc. Transportation industry. The Misc. Transportation 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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.

---

Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jiangsu Lianyungang Port Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port 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 Jiangsu Lianyungang Port needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

--- ---