SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, increasing energy prices,
there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments
2. Improving business portfolio management of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Schools sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments
Strengths of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments are -
Ability to lead change in Schools
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is one of the leading players in the Schools industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Schools industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Schools industry
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Schools industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is present in almost all the verticals within the Schools industry. This has provided Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
Organizational Resilience of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments in Schools industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is one of the most innovative firm in Schools sector.
Analytics focus
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Schools 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
Digital Transformation in Schools industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
Weaknesses of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Schools industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Schools industry.
High dependence on Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Schools industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Schools industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Schools industry, but Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments to focus more on services in the Schools industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Schools industry, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is one of the leading players in the Schools industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Schools industry in last five years.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments to provide better information regarding Schools products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments has high operating costs in the Schools industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments lucrative customers.
Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Schools industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments to increase its market reach. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Schools industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Schools industry.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Schools sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can utilize new technology in the field of Schools 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. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Schools industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Schools 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Schools industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments is facing in Schools sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Schools industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Schools industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Schools 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Schools sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments prominent markets.
Regulatory challenges
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Schools industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments in Schools industry. The Schools 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.
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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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.
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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments 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 Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
