Guangdong Aofei Data A (300738) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Computer Services
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Guangdong Aofei Data A (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Guangdong Aofei Data A is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Aofei Data A
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Guangdong Aofei Data A can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Guangdong Aofei Data A, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Guangdong Aofei Data A operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Guangdong Aofei Data A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Guangdong Aofei Data A
2. Improving business portfolio management of Guangdong Aofei Data A
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Computer Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Guangdong Aofei Data A
Strengths of Guangdong Aofei Data A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Guangdong Aofei Data A are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Guangdong Aofei Data A in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Guangdong Aofei Data A has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Guangdong Aofei Data A to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Guangdong Aofei Data A is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Guangdong Aofei Data A is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Guangdong Aofei Data A emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Guangdong Aofei Data A
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Guangdong Aofei Data A does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Guangdong Aofei Data A has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Computer Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Guangdong Aofei Data A have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Guangdong Aofei Data A is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Services sector.
Digital Transformation in Computer Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Guangdong Aofei Data A digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Guangdong Aofei Data A has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Guangdong Aofei Data A 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Guangdong Aofei Data A has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Guangdong Aofei Data A staying ahead in the Computer Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Guangdong Aofei Data A has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Guangdong Aofei Data A has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Guangdong Aofei Data A has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
High brand equity
– Guangdong Aofei Data A has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Guangdong Aofei Data A to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management in the Computer Services industry
– Guangdong Aofei Data A is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses of Guangdong Aofei Data A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Guangdong Aofei Data A are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Guangdong Aofei Data A needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Guangdong Aofei Data A can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Guangdong Aofei Data A is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Guangdong Aofei Data A, in the dynamic environment of Computer Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Guangdong Aofei Data A has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Guangdong Aofei Data A has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Computer Services 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 Guangdong Aofei Data A products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Guangdong Aofei Data A needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Guangdong Aofei Data A is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the Computer Services industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Guangdong Aofei Data A is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Computer Services industry, but Guangdong Aofei Data A needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Guangdong Aofei Data A to focus more on services in the Computer Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Computer Services industry, Guangdong Aofei Data A 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Guangdong Aofei Data A is just above the Computer Services 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Guangdong Aofei Data A 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Guangdong Aofei Data A is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Guangdong Aofei Data A to provide better information regarding Computer Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on Guangdong Aofei Data A ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Guangdong Aofei Data A still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Computer Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Guangdong Aofei Data A has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Guangdong Aofei Data A Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Guangdong Aofei Data A are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Guangdong Aofei Data A in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Guangdong Aofei Data A can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Guangdong Aofei Data A can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Loyalty marketing
– Guangdong Aofei Data A has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Computer Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Guangdong Aofei Data A in the Computer Services industry. Now Guangdong Aofei Data A 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 Guangdong Aofei Data A 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 Aofei Data A to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Guangdong Aofei Data A 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 Aofei Data A to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Guangdong Aofei Data A can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Guangdong Aofei Data A to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Guangdong Aofei Data A can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Guangdong Aofei Data A can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Guangdong Aofei Data A operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Services sector.
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 Guangdong Aofei Data A to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Guangdong Aofei Data A has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Services industry. This can help Guangdong Aofei Data A to build a more holistic ecosystem for Guangdong Aofei Data A products in the Computer Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Guangdong Aofei Data A can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Guangdong Aofei Data A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Guangdong Aofei Data A are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Guangdong Aofei Data A can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Computer Services industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Computer Services industry are lowering. It can presents Guangdong Aofei Data A with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Computer Services sector.
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 Guangdong Aofei Data A in the Computer Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Guangdong Aofei Data A can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Guangdong Aofei Data A has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Guangdong Aofei Data A needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Services 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.
Environmental challenges
– Guangdong Aofei Data A needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Guangdong Aofei Data A can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Services industry.
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 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 Aofei Data A needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Guangdong Aofei Data A in Computer Services industry. The Computer Services 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Guangdong Aofei Data A 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 Computer Services industry regulations.
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 Aofei Data A 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Guangdong Aofei Data A may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Services sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Guangdong Aofei Data A demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Computer Services industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Aofei Data A Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Guangdong Aofei Data A needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of Guangdong Aofei Data A is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of Guangdong Aofei Data A is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Guangdong Aofei Data A to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Guangdong Aofei Data A needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.