SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Nanjing Inform Storage (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Nanjing Inform Storage is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nanjing Inform Storage
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Nanjing Inform Storage can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nanjing Inform Storage, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Nanjing Inform Storage
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nanjing Inform Storage
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Furniture & Fixtures sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Nanjing Inform Storage
Strengths of Nanjing Inform Storage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nanjing Inform Storage are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nanjing Inform Storage in Furniture & Fixtures industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nanjing Inform Storage is one of the leading players in the Furniture & Fixtures 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 Furniture & Fixtures industry
– Nanjing Inform Storage is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Nanjing Inform Storage comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Furniture & Fixtures 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Furniture & Fixtures industry
– Nanjing Inform Storage has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nanjing Inform Storage to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Furniture & Fixtures industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nanjing Inform Storage to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nanjing Inform Storage has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Furniture & Fixtures industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Nanjing Inform Storage have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Nanjing Inform Storage 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nanjing Inform Storage has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Nanjing Inform Storage staying ahead in the Furniture & Fixtures industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Nanjing Inform Storage 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.
Organizational Resilience of Nanjing Inform Storage
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Nanjing Inform Storage does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Nanjing Inform Storage has one of the best training and development program in Consumer Cyclical 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
– Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Furniture & Fixtures 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.
Weaknesses of Nanjing Inform Storage | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nanjing Inform Storage are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Nanjing Inform Storage products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nanjing Inform Storage needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on Nanjing Inform Storage ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Nanjing Inform Storage still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Furniture & Fixtures industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Nanjing Inform Storage has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring in Furniture & Fixtures industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nanjing Inform Storage has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
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 Nanjing Inform Storage supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Nanjing Inform Storage is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Nanjing Inform Storage vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Nanjing Inform Storage, in the dynamic environment of Furniture & Fixtures industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nanjing Inform Storage has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Nanjing Inform Storage has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Furniture & Fixtures industry over the last five years. Nanjing Inform Storage 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Furniture & Fixtures industry, Nanjing Inform Storage 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nanjing Inform Storage is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Nanjing Inform Storage to provide better information regarding Furniture & Fixtures products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Nanjing Inform Storage 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Nanjing Inform Storage has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Furniture & Fixtures industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nanjing Inform Storage is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Furniture & Fixtures industry, but Nanjing Inform Storage needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nanjing Inform Storage to focus more on services in the Furniture & Fixtures industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Nanjing Inform Storage Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Nanjing Inform Storage are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Furniture & Fixtures industry. This can help Nanjing Inform Storage to build a more holistic ecosystem for Nanjing Inform Storage products in the Furniture & Fixtures industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Nanjing Inform Storage can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Furniture & Fixtures 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Furniture & Fixtures industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Nanjing Inform Storage in the Furniture & Fixtures industry. Now Nanjing Inform Storage can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nanjing Inform Storage is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Nanjing Inform Storage can utilize new technology in the field of Furniture & Fixtures industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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. Nanjing Inform Storage can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Nanjing Inform Storage in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Furniture & Fixtures industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nanjing Inform Storage to increase its market reach. Nanjing Inform Storage 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Nanjing Inform Storage can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nanjing Inform Storage operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Furniture & Fixtures sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Nanjing Inform Storage can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Furniture & Fixtures 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.
Threats Nanjing Inform Storage External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Nanjing Inform Storage are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nanjing Inform Storage 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nanjing Inform Storage is facing in Furniture & Fixtures sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Nanjing Inform Storage.
Environmental challenges
– Nanjing Inform Storage 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. Nanjing Inform Storage can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Furniture & Fixtures industry.
Increasing wage structure of Nanjing Inform Storage
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Nanjing Inform Storage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Nanjing Inform Storage in Furniture & Fixtures industry. The Furniture & Fixtures 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.
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 Furniture & Fixtures industry are lowering. It can presents Nanjing Inform Storage with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Furniture & Fixtures sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Furniture & Fixtures industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage prominent markets.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Furniture & Fixtures 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 Nanjing Inform Storage business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nanjing Inform Storage Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage 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 Nanjing Inform Storage needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
