SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Taiyuan Lionhead Cement (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Taiyuan Lionhead Cement can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Taiyuan Lionhead Cement, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement
2. Improving business portfolio management of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Construction - Raw Materials sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement
Strengths of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Construction - Raw Materials 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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement in Construction - Raw Materials industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement in the Capital Goods sector have low bargaining power. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Taiyuan Lionhead Cement to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Taiyuan Lionhead Cement staying ahead in the Construction - Raw Materials industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has one of the best training and development program in Capital Goods 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
Digital Transformation in Construction - Raw Materials industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Taiyuan Lionhead Cement digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is present in almost all the verticals within the Construction - Raw Materials industry. This has provided Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Construction - Raw Materials industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 - Raw Materials 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is one of the leading players in the Construction - Raw Materials 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.
Ability to lead change in Construction - Raw Materials
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is one of the leading players in the Construction - Raw Materials industry in China. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Construction - Raw Materials industry in China but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Taiyuan Lionhead Cement in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Taiyuan Lionhead Cement to provide better information regarding Construction - Raw Materials products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Construction - Raw Materials industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in China, Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 - Raw Materials industry.
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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Taiyuan Lionhead Cement vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on Taiyuan Lionhead Cement ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Construction - Raw Materials industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Construction - Raw Materials 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Taiyuan Lionhead Cement needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Construction - Raw Materials industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Taiyuan Lionhead Cement can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is just above the Construction - Raw Materials 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has some of the most successful models in the Construction - Raw Materials industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is one of the leading players in the Construction - Raw Materials industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Construction - Raw Materials industry in last five years.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Construction - Raw Materials industry, but Taiyuan Lionhead Cement needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Taiyuan Lionhead Cement to focus more on services in the Construction - Raw Materials industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
Taiyuan Lionhead Cement Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Construction - Raw Materials sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Taiyuan Lionhead Cement to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Taiyuan Lionhead Cement to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 - Raw Materials industry.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Taiyuan Lionhead Cement to increase its market reach. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
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. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Construction - Raw Materials industry. This can help Taiyuan Lionhead Cement to build a more holistic ecosystem for Taiyuan Lionhead Cement products in the Construction - Raw Materials industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Construction - Raw Materials 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 - Raw Materials industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Construction - Raw Materials 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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.
Threats Taiyuan Lionhead Cement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Construction - Raw Materials industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Construction - Raw Materials industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Taiyuan Lionhead Cement needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Construction - Raw Materials 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Taiyuan Lionhead Cement may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Construction - Raw Materials sector.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 - Raw Materials industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Taiyuan Lionhead Cement in Construction - Raw Materials industry. The Construction - Raw Materials 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.
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. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Construction - Raw Materials industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement in the Construction - Raw Materials sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Construction - Raw Materials industry are lowering. It can presents Taiyuan Lionhead Cement with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Construction - Raw Materials sector.
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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Construction - Raw Materials industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Taiyuan Lionhead Cement Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement 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 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.