Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Misc. Fabricated Products sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials
Strengths of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials are -
Innovation driven organization
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Fabricated Products industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials in the Basic Materials sector have low bargaining power. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
Training and development
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials has one of the best training and development program in Basic Materials 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Fabricated Products
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is one of the leading players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials in Misc. Fabricated Products industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is one of the leading players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry in China. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in China. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Misc. Fabricated Products industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, but Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials to focus more on services in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is just above the Misc. Fabricated Products industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry over the last five years. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
Skills based hiring in Misc. Fabricated Products industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Misc. Fabricated Products sector. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials to increase its market reach. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Misc. Fabricated Products industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can utilize new technology in the field of Misc. Fabricated Products industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. Fabricated Products industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
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. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
Threats Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Misc. Fabricated Products industry.
Environmental challenges
– Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Fabricated Products 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. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 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. Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Fabricated Products industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Fabricated Products industry are lowering. It can presents Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Fabricated Products sector.
Increasing wage structure of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials
– 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials in Misc. Fabricated Products industry. The Misc. Fabricated Products 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.
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.
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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials.
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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials 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 Kunshan Kinglai Hygienic Materials needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.