SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption,
increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten
2. Improving business portfolio management of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten
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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten
Strengths of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten are -
Strong track record of project management in the Chemical Manufacturing industry
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Learning organization
- Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Chemical Manufacturing
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten staying ahead in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Chemical Manufacturing industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Digital Transformation in Chemical Manufacturing industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten is one of the most innovative firm in Chemical Manufacturing sector.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Chemical Manufacturing industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten, in the dynamic environment of Chemical Manufacturing industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to provide better information regarding Chemical Manufacturing products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Chemical Manufacturing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry.
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. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can develop new processes and procedures in Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Chemical Manufacturing industry. This can help Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to build a more holistic ecosystem for Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten products in the Chemical Manufacturing industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten to increase its market reach. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Threats Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Chemical Manufacturing industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Chemical Manufacturing industry are lowering. It can presents Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Chemical Manufacturing sector.
Environmental challenges
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten prominent markets.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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
– Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten in Chemical Manufacturing industry. The Chemical Manufacturing 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten 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 Guangdong Xianglu Tungsten needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.