SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shenzhen MinDe Electronics (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions,
technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shenzhen MinDe Electronics can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shenzhen MinDe Electronics, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 MinDe Electronics can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Computer Peripherals sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics
Strengths of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics are -
Analytics focus
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 Computer Peripherals 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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.
Organizational Resilience of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Shenzhen MinDe Electronics does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Shenzhen MinDe Electronics to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Shenzhen MinDe Electronics staying ahead in the Computer Peripherals industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Computer Peripherals 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics in Computer Peripherals industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is one of the most innovative firm in Computer Peripherals sector.
Training and development
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is present in almost all the verticals within the Computer Peripherals industry. This has provided Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is one of the leading players in the Computer Peripherals 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 Shenzhen MinDe Electronics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Computer Peripherals industry using digital technology.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Shenzhen MinDe Electronics to provide better information regarding Computer Peripherals 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 MinDe Electronics needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Peripherals industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Shenzhen MinDe Electronics can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Computer Peripherals industry over the last five years. Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is one of the leading players in the Computer Peripherals industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Peripherals 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 Shenzhen MinDe Electronics supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Shenzhen MinDe Electronics vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has high operating costs in the Computer Peripherals industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Shenzhen MinDe Electronics lucrative customers.
Skills based hiring in Computer Peripherals industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Computer Peripherals 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.
Shenzhen MinDe Electronics Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 Shenzhen MinDe Electronics to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shenzhen MinDe Electronics in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Computer Peripherals industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Computer Peripherals industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Shenzhen MinDe Electronics can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 Computer Peripherals industry.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Computer Peripherals sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Shenzhen MinDe Electronics to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shenzhen MinDe Electronics to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Shenzhen MinDe Electronics to increase its market reach. Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Computer Peripherals 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.
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 MinDe Electronics can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shenzhen MinDe Electronics operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Computer Peripherals sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Peripherals industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 MinDe Electronics 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Computer Peripherals 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shenzhen MinDe Electronics can utilize new technology in the field of Computer Peripherals industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats Shenzhen MinDe Electronics External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 MinDe Electronics prominent markets.
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. Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Shenzhen MinDe Electronics is facing in Computer Peripherals sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 MinDe Electronics can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Computer Peripherals industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 Computer Peripherals industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of Shenzhen MinDe Electronics
– 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 Shenzhen MinDe Electronics.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Peripherals industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Shenzhen MinDe Electronics can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Shenzhen MinDe Electronics in the Computer Peripherals sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Peripherals industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shenzhen MinDe Electronics needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Peripherals 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.
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 MinDe Electronics needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Peripherals industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 MinDe Electronics.
Regulatory challenges
– Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 Computer Peripherals industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shenzhen MinDe Electronics in Computer Peripherals industry. The Computer Peripherals 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 Shenzhen MinDe Electronics Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shenzhen MinDe Electronics 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 MinDe Electronics 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 MinDe Electronics 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 MinDe Electronics 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 MinDe Electronics needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.