Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Chemical Manufacturing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive
Strengths of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive are -
Innovation driven organization
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is one of the most innovative firm in Chemical Manufacturing sector.
High brand equity
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is one of the leading players in the Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Ability to lead change in Chemical Manufacturing
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is one of the leading players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has one of the best training and development program in Basic Materials 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.
Analytics focus
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Chemical Manufacturing industry
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive in Chemical Manufacturing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is present in almost all the verticals within the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This has provided Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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.
Weaknesses of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive, in the dynamic environment of Chemical Manufacturing industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry using digital technology.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has high operating costs in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Chemical Manufacturing industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has some of the most successful models in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is just above the Chemical Manufacturing industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, but Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive to focus more on services in the Chemical Manufacturing industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive are -
Manufacturing automation
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Chemical Manufacturing 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, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Chemical Manufacturing sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Chemical Manufacturing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Chemical Manufacturing 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.
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. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. Now Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Chemical Manufacturing sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive are -
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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry regulations.
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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry.
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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive in the Chemical Manufacturing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Chemical Manufacturing sector.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Chemical Manufacturing 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.
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. Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive 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 Jiangxi Guotai Industrial Explosive needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.