SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shenzhen Liande Automatic (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shenzhen Liande Automatic is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shenzhen Liande Automatic
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shenzhen Liande Automatic can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shenzhen Liande Automatic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shenzhen Liande Automatic
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shenzhen Liande Automatic
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Computer Peripherals sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shenzhen Liande Automatic
Strengths of Shenzhen Liande Automatic | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shenzhen Liande Automatic are -
Training and development
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Computer Peripherals industry
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shenzhen Liande Automatic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Computer Peripherals industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shenzhen Liande Automatic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Shenzhen Liande Automatic comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Computer Peripherals 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.
Organizational Resilience of Shenzhen Liande Automatic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Shenzhen Liande Automatic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Shenzhen Liande Automatic emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Shenzhen Liande Automatic in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Shenzhen Liande Automatic has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shenzhen Liande Automatic to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Shenzhen Liande Automatic to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Shenzhen Liande Automatic staying ahead in the Computer Peripherals industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Computer Peripherals industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shenzhen Liande Automatic digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Peripherals sector.
Weaknesses of Shenzhen Liande Automatic | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shenzhen Liande Automatic are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Shenzhen Liande Automatic is one of the leading players in the Computer Peripherals industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Peripherals 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, Shenzhen Liande Automatic is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Shenzhen Liande Automatic to provide better information regarding Computer Peripherals products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ less understanding of Shenzhen Liande Automatic strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Shenzhen Liande Automatic don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Peripherals industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Peripherals industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Shenzhen Liande Automatic, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Computer Peripherals industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Shenzhen Liande Automatic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Computer Peripherals industry, but Shenzhen Liande Automatic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shenzhen Liande Automatic to focus more on services in the Computer Peripherals industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Shenzhen Liande Automatic products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shenzhen Liande Automatic needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on Shenzhen Liande Automatic ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Shenzhen Liande Automatic still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Computer Peripherals industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Shenzhen Liande Automatic has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Shenzhen Liande Automatic has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Computer Peripherals 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 Computer Peripherals industry, Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Shenzhen Liande Automatic needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Shenzhen Liande Automatic Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shenzhen Liande Automatic are -
Manufacturing automation
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Computer Peripherals 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Shenzhen Liande Automatic can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shenzhen Liande Automatic operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Peripherals sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shenzhen Liande Automatic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shenzhen Liande Automatic can utilize new technology in the field of Computer Peripherals industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Computer Peripherals industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Shenzhen Liande Automatic can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic can develop new processes and procedures in Computer Peripherals industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Peripherals industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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. Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Computer Peripherals 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Shenzhen Liande Automatic has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Peripherals industry. This can help Shenzhen Liande Automatic to build a more holistic ecosystem for Shenzhen Liande Automatic products in the Computer Peripherals 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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.
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. Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Peripherals industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Shenzhen Liande Automatic External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shenzhen Liande Automatic are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Peripherals industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shenzhen Liande Automatic can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shenzhen Liande Automatic is facing in Computer Peripherals sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Shenzhen Liande Automatic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Peripherals industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Peripherals industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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. Shenzhen Liande Automatic can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Peripherals industry.
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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic.
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. Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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.
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.
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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic in the Computer Peripherals sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Peripherals industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shenzhen Liande Automatic has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Peripherals industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shenzhen Liande Automatic needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Peripherals 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shenzhen Liande Automatic in Computer Peripherals industry. The Computer Peripherals 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Peripherals sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shenzhen Liande Automatic Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic 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 Shenzhen Liande Automatic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.