SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Jiangsu Sanfangxiang (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Jiangsu Sanfangxiang is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Jiangsu Sanfangxiang can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Jiangsu Sanfangxiang, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang
2. Improving business portfolio management of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Textiles - Non Apparel sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang
Strengths of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang is one of the most innovative firm in Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Textiles - Non Apparel industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Textiles - Non Apparel
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang is one of the leading players in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Jiangsu Sanfangxiang to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Jiangsu Sanfangxiang to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang is present in almost all the verticals within the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. This has provided Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Analytics focus
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang in the Consumer Cyclical sector have low bargaining power. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Jiangsu Sanfangxiang to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang in Textiles - Non Apparel industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Training and development
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang are -
Employees’ less understanding of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has some of the most successful models in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry.
High dependence on Jiangsu Sanfangxiang ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Textiles - Non Apparel industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has high operating costs in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Jiangsu Sanfangxiang lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry, but Jiangsu Sanfangxiang needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Jiangsu Sanfangxiang to focus more on services in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring in Textiles - Non Apparel industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry over the last five years. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry using digital technology.
Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang are -
Loyalty marketing
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang can utilize new technology in the field of Textiles - Non Apparel industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Jiangsu Sanfangxiang to increase its market reach. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry.
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. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Jiangsu Sanfangxiang operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Jiangsu Sanfangxiang can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Textiles - Non Apparel 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Textiles - Non Apparel sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Jiangsu Sanfangxiang to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Jiangsu Sanfangxiang to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Jiangsu Sanfangxiang External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry.
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 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. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Textiles - Non Apparel sector.
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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Textiles - Non Apparel industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Jiangsu Sanfangxiang is facing in Textiles - Non Apparel sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang in the Textiles - Non Apparel sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Textiles - Non Apparel industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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
– Jiangsu Sanfangxiang has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Textiles - Non Apparel industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Textiles - Non Apparel 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, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang 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 Jiangsu Sanfangxiang needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.