Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure
2. Improving business portfolio management of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Construction Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure
Strengths of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Construction Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Construction Services industry
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Construction Services industry
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Construction Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure is present in almost all the verticals within the Construction Services industry. This has provided Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure staying ahead in the Construction Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 lead change in Construction Services
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure is one of the leading players in the Construction Services industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Construction Services industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure in Construction Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High brand equity
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Construction 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.
Weaknesses of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Construction Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Construction Services industry, Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Construction Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Construction Services industry.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure is one of the leading players in the Construction Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Construction Services industry in last five years.
Employees’ less understanding of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Skills based hiring in Construction Services industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Construction Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Construction Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Construction Services sector.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Construction Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure in the Construction Services industry. Now Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Construction Services industry.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure to increase its market reach. Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Construction Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Construction 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Construction 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Construction Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure are -
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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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. Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Construction Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure is facing in Construction Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Construction Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Construction Services industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Construction Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Construction Services 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Construction Services industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Construction Services industry are lowering. It can presents Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Construction Services sector.
Environmental challenges
– Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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. Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Construction Services industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure in Construction Services industry. The Construction 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Construction Services industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure 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 Anhui Fuhuang Steel Structure needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.