ButOne Info (600455) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Schools
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for ButOne Info (China)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , ButOne Info is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that ButOne Info can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the ButOne Info, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of ButOne Info
2. Improving business portfolio management of ButOne Info
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in China
4. Making a Schools sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of ButOne Info
Strengths of ButOne Info | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of ButOne Info are -
Training and development
– ButOne Info has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Schools industry
– ButOne Info is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– ButOne Info is one of the most innovative firm in Schools sector.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of ButOne Info comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Schools 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– ButOne Info is one of the leading players in the Schools 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.
Digital Transformation in Schools industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For ButOne Info digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. ButOne Info 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– ButOne Info has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. ButOne Info 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of ButOne Info in the Services sector have low bargaining power. ButOne Info has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps ButOne Info to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that ButOne Info 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– ButOne Info has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Schools industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of ButOne Info have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at ButOne Info emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Schools industry
– ButOne Info has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled ButOne Info to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Schools industry. The sustainable margins have also helped ButOne Info to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of ButOne Info | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ButOne Info are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of ButOne Info is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Schools industry, but ButOne Info needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help ButOne Info to focus more on services in the Schools industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, ButOne Info is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help ButOne Info to provide better information regarding Schools products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
ButOne Info has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Schools industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at ButOne Info, in the dynamic environment of Schools industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. ButOne Info has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ less understanding of ButOne Info strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of ButOne Info 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, ButOne Info has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Schools industry over the last five years. ButOne Info 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of China, ButOne Info needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– ButOne Info 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, ButOne Info 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 Schools industry using digital technology.
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 ButOne Info supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, ButOne Info is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left ButOne Info vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though ButOne Info has some of the most successful models in the Schools industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. ButOne Info should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
ButOne Info Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of ButOne Info are -
Buying journey improvements
– ButOne Info can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Schools 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, ButOne Info can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that ButOne Info operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Schools sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– ButOne Info 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.
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. ButOne Info can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– ButOne Info 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects ButOne Info can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Schools industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. ButOne Info 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. ButOne Info 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for ButOne Info 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.
Manufacturing automation
– ButOne Info can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Schools 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of ButOne Info has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Schools industry. This can help ButOne Info to build a more holistic ecosystem for ButOne Info products in the Schools industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Schools industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for ButOne Info in the Schools industry. Now ButOne Info can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats ButOne Info External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of ButOne Info are -
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. ButOne Info 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.
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 ButOne Info in the Schools sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 ButOne Info business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on ButOne Info 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 Schools industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– ButOne Info 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 Schools industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Schools industry are lowering. It can presents ButOne Info with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Schools sector.
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 ButOne Info in Schools industry. The Schools 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. ButOne Info needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Schools industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– ButOne Info has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Schools industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, ButOne Info needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Schools 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– ButOne Info 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 Schools industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info prominent markets.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ButOne Info Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info 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 ButOne Info needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
