Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink
2. Improving business portfolio management of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink
Strengths of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is one of the most innovative firm in Chemical Manufacturing sector.
High brand equity
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Chemical Manufacturing industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Organizational Resilience of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. The technology infrastructure of China is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Diverse revenue streams
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is present in almost all the verticals within the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This has provided Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink in Chemical Manufacturing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Weaknesses of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is one of the leading players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Chemical Manufacturing industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Chemical Manufacturing industry, but Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink to focus more on services in the Chemical Manufacturing industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Chemical Manufacturing industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 dependence on Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Chemical Manufacturing industry over the last five years. Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink are -
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink to increase its market reach. Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink can utilize new technology in the field of Chemical Manufacturing industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Chemical Manufacturing industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. Now Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Chemical Manufacturing industry. This can help Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink to build a more holistic ecosystem for Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink products in the Chemical Manufacturing industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Threats Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink are -
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink in the Chemical Manufacturing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Chemical Manufacturing industry are lowering. It can presents Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Chemical Manufacturing sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink prominent markets.
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Chemical Manufacturing industry.
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Chemical Manufacturing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink.
Increasing wage structure of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink
– 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 Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Guangdong Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink 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 Sky Dragon Printing Ink needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.