Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering
2. Improving business portfolio management of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Water Transportation sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering
Strengths of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
Ability to lead change in Water Transportation
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering is one of the leading players in the Water Transportation industry in Hong Kong. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Water Transportation industry in Hong Kong but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering in Water Transportation industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management in the Water Transportation industry
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Water Transportation industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has one of the best training and development program in Transportation 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering staying ahead in the Water Transportation industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering is one of the most innovative firm in Water Transportation sector.
High brand equity
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Water Transportation industry
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Water Transportation industry. The sustainable margins have also helped CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 Water Transportation industry using digital technology.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Water Transportation industry over the last five years. CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
Need for greater diversity
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Water Transportation 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has high operating costs in the Water Transportation industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Water Transportation industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Water Transportation industry, but CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering to focus more on services in the Water Transportation industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Water Transportation industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Water Transportation industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering are -
Developing new processes and practices
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can develop new processes and procedures in Water Transportation industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 Water Transportation industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
Manufacturing automation
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Water Transportation 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Water Transportation sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can utilize new technology in the field of Water Transportation industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Water Transportation sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Water Transportation industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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. CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Water Transportation industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering in the Water Transportation industry. Now CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 Water Transportation industry.
Threats CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 Water Transportation industry and other sectors.
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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering is facing in Water Transportation sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Water Transportation industry are lowering. It can presents CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Water Transportation sector.
Regulatory challenges
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 Water Transportation industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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. CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Water Transportation industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering in Water Transportation industry. The Water Transportation 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.
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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering in the Water Transportation sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 Water Transportation industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering prominent markets.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Water Transportation industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Water Transportation 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, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Water Transportation sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering 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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
