SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Jianglong Shipbuilding (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Jianglong Shipbuilding is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jianglong Shipbuilding
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Jianglong Shipbuilding can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jianglong Shipbuilding, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Jianglong Shipbuilding can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Jianglong Shipbuilding
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jianglong Shipbuilding
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Recreational Products sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Jianglong Shipbuilding
Strengths of Jianglong Shipbuilding | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Jianglong Shipbuilding are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Jianglong Shipbuilding in Recreational Products industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Jianglong Shipbuilding in the Consumer Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Jianglong Shipbuilding has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Jianglong Shipbuilding to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Recreational Products industry
– Jianglong Shipbuilding has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Jianglong Shipbuilding to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Recreational Products industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Jianglong Shipbuilding to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Jianglong Shipbuilding has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Jianglong Shipbuilding to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management in the Recreational Products industry
– Jianglong Shipbuilding is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Recreational Products
– Jianglong Shipbuilding is one of the leading players in the Recreational Products industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Recreational Products industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Jianglong Shipbuilding in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Jianglong Shipbuilding
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Jianglong Shipbuilding does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Jianglong Shipbuilding has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Jianglong Shipbuilding is one of the leading players in the Recreational Products 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Jianglong Shipbuilding is present in almost all the verticals within the Recreational Products industry. This has provided Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Training and development
– Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Weaknesses of Jianglong Shipbuilding | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jianglong Shipbuilding are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Jianglong Shipbuilding is just above the Recreational Products industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Jianglong Shipbuilding needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Recreational Products industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Jianglong Shipbuilding can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Jianglong Shipbuilding is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Jianglong Shipbuilding, in the dynamic environment of Recreational Products industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Jianglong Shipbuilding has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on Jianglong Shipbuilding ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Jianglong Shipbuilding still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Recreational Products industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Jianglong Shipbuilding has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Recreational Products industry, Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Recreational Products industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Recreational Products industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Jianglong Shipbuilding is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Jianglong Shipbuilding to provide better information regarding Recreational Products products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Jianglong Shipbuilding has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Recreational Products industry using digital technology.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Jianglong Shipbuilding has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Recreational Products industry over the last five years. Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Jianglong Shipbuilding, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Recreational Products 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.
Skills based hiring in Recreational Products industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Jianglong Shipbuilding Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Jianglong Shipbuilding are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Jianglong Shipbuilding has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Recreational Products industry. This can help Jianglong Shipbuilding to build a more holistic ecosystem for Jianglong Shipbuilding products in the Recreational Products industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Jianglong Shipbuilding can develop new processes and procedures in Recreational Products 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Recreational Products industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Jianglong Shipbuilding can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Jianglong Shipbuilding to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Jianglong Shipbuilding can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help Jianglong Shipbuilding to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Jianglong Shipbuilding to increase its market reach. Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Jianglong Shipbuilding has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Recreational Products sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Jianglong Shipbuilding to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Jianglong Shipbuilding to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Jianglong Shipbuilding can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Recreational Products 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.
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 Jianglong Shipbuilding 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Jianglong Shipbuilding can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Recreational Products 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, Jianglong Shipbuilding can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Jianglong Shipbuilding operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Recreational Products sector.
Threats Jianglong Shipbuilding External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Jianglong Shipbuilding are -
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. Jianglong Shipbuilding needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Recreational Products industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Recreational Products industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Recreational Products industry are lowering. It can presents Jianglong Shipbuilding with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Recreational Products sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Jianglong Shipbuilding may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Recreational Products sector.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Recreational Products industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Recreational Products industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Jianglong Shipbuilding.
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 Jianglong Shipbuilding in the Recreational Products sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Recreational Products industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Jianglong Shipbuilding can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Jianglong Shipbuilding has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Recreational Products industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Jianglong Shipbuilding needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Recreational Products 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Jianglong Shipbuilding prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jianglong Shipbuilding Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Jianglong Shipbuilding 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 Jianglong Shipbuilding needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.