Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Wuxi Biologics Cayman is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices,
increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wuxi Biologics Cayman
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Wuxi Biologics Cayman can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wuxi Biologics Cayman, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Wuxi Biologics Cayman
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wuxi Biologics Cayman
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Biotechnology & Drugs sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Wuxi Biologics Cayman
Strengths of Wuxi Biologics Cayman | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wuxi Biologics Cayman are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wuxi Biologics Cayman to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wuxi Biologics Cayman to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Wuxi Biologics Cayman emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Wuxi Biologics Cayman
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Wuxi Biologics Cayman does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
Digital Transformation in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wuxi Biologics Cayman digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Wuxi Biologics Cayman comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Biotechnology & Drugs 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wuxi Biologics Cayman in the Healthcare sector have low bargaining power. Wuxi Biologics Cayman has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wuxi Biologics Cayman to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Biotechnology & Drugs industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Wuxi Biologics Cayman have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman has one of the best training and development program in Healthcare 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 brand equity
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wuxi Biologics Cayman to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses of Wuxi Biologics Cayman | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Wuxi Biologics Cayman are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Wuxi Biologics Cayman products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wuxi Biologics Cayman needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Wuxi Biologics Cayman is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Wuxi Biologics Cayman to provide better information regarding Biotechnology & Drugs products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Wuxi Biologics Cayman, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Biotechnology & Drugs 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 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Wuxi Biologics Cayman is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Wuxi Biologics Cayman vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong, Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Wuxi Biologics Cayman has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on Wuxi Biologics Cayman ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Wuxi Biologics Cayman still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Biotechnology & Drugs industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Wuxi Biologics Cayman has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Wuxi Biologics Cayman is one of the leading players in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry in last five years.
Employees’ less understanding of Wuxi Biologics Cayman strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
Skills based hiring in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hong Kong, Wuxi Biologics Cayman needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Wuxi Biologics Cayman Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Wuxi Biologics Cayman are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wuxi Biologics Cayman can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Biotechnology & Drugs 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Wuxi Biologics Cayman to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
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. Wuxi Biologics Cayman can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Wuxi Biologics Cayman is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Wuxi Biologics Cayman can utilize new technology in the field of Biotechnology & Drugs industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Biotechnology & Drugs industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Wuxi Biologics Cayman can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Biotechnology & Drugs industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Wuxi Biologics Cayman in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. Now Wuxi Biologics Cayman can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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. Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Biotechnology & Drugs sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Wuxi Biologics Cayman to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Wuxi Biologics Cayman to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
Threats Wuxi Biologics Cayman External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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. Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Biotechnology & Drugs industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wuxi Biologics Cayman is facing in Biotechnology & Drugs sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman prominent markets.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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.
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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman.
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.
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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman in the Biotechnology & Drugs sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Wuxi Biologics Cayman needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Wuxi Biologics Cayman
– 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wuxi Biologics Cayman has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Biotechnology & Drugs industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wuxi Biologics Cayman needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Biotechnology & Drugs 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Biotechnology & Drugs industry are lowering. It can presents Wuxi Biologics Cayman with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Biotechnology & Drugs sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wuxi Biologics Cayman Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman 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 Wuxi Biologics Cayman needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.