SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape
2. Improving business portfolio management of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Personal Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape
Strengths of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape are -
Analytics focus
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Personal Services 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape staying ahead in the Personal Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Personal Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape is present in almost all the verticals within the Personal Services industry. This has provided Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Personal Services industry
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Personal Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Organizational Resilience of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Personal Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Personal Services 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape is one of the leading players in the Personal Services 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.
Weaknesses of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Personal Services industry, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape, in the dynamic environment of Personal Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has some of the most successful models in the Personal Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Personal Services industry over the last five years. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape is one of the leading players in the Personal Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Personal Services industry in last five years.
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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Personal Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape is just above the Personal Services 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.
Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Personal Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Personal Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape to increase its market reach. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Personal Services industry. This can help Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape to build a more holistic ecosystem for Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape products in the Personal Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can develop new processes and procedures in Personal Services 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Personal Services sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Personal Services 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Personal Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape in the Personal Services industry. Now Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Personal Services 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.
Threats Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape are -
Increasing wage structure of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape
– 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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape prominent markets.
Environmental challenges
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Personal Services 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. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Personal Services industry are lowering. It can presents Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Personal Services sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape is facing in Personal Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape.
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. Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Personal Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Personal Services industry and other sectors.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Personal Services sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape in Personal Services industry. The Personal Services 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape 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 Zhejiang Yuancheng Landscape needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.