SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Retail (Specialty) sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery
Strengths of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Learning organization
- Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is one of the most innovative firm in Retail (Specialty) sector.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Retail (Specialty) industry
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Retail (Specialty) industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is one of the leading players in the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery staying ahead in the Retail (Specialty) industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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.
Analytics focus
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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 Retail (Specialty) 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.
Digital Transformation in Retail (Specialty) industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery in Retail (Specialty) industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Retail (Specialty)
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is one of the leading players in the Retail (Specialty) industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Retail (Specialty) industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery to provide better information regarding Retail (Specialty) products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Retail (Specialty) industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Retail (Specialty) industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery has some of the most successful models in the Retail (Specialty) industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Retail (Specialty) industry over the last five years. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Retail (Specialty) industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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 Retail (Specialty) industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Retail (Specialty) industry, but Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery to focus more on services in the Retail (Specialty) industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is one of the leading players in the Retail (Specialty) industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Retail (Specialty) industry in last five years.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is just above the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery to increase its market reach. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can utilize new technology in the field of Retail (Specialty) industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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 Retail (Specialty) industry.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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 Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can develop new processes and procedures in Retail (Specialty) 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, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Retail (Specialty) sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Retail (Specialty) industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Buying journey improvements
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Retail (Specialty) industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery in the Retail (Specialty) industry. Now Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Retail (Specialty) industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Retail (Specialty) 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.
Threats Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Retail (Specialty) industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Retail (Specialty) sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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 Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery prominent markets.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is facing in Retail (Specialty) sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Retail (Specialty) industry.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Retail (Specialty) industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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 Retail (Specialty) industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Retail (Specialty) industry are lowering. It can presents Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Retail (Specialty) sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Retail (Specialty) industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Retail (Specialty) 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.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Shenzhen Ideal Jewellery needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
