Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest
2. Improving business portfolio management of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Consumer Financial Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest
Strengths of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest are -
Organizational Resilience of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Consumer Financial Services industry
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Consumer Financial Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest staying ahead in the Consumer Financial Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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.
High brand equity
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest in Consumer Financial Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Consumer Financial Services industry. The technology infrastructure of Hong Kong 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 lead change in Consumer Financial Services
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest is one of the leading players in the Consumer Financial Services industry in Hong Kong. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Consumer Financial Services industry in Hong Kong but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest is one of the most innovative firm in Consumer Financial Services sector.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Consumer Financial Services 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.
Learning organization
- Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Consumer Financial Services industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Consumer Financial Services 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, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has high operating costs in the Consumer Financial Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Consumer Financial Services industry, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Consumer Financial Services industry over the last five years. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Consumer Financial Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hong Kong, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Consumer Financial Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Consumer Financial Services industry.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Consumer Financial Services industry using digital technology.
Employees’ less understanding of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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.
Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can utilize new technology in the field of Consumer Financial Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Consumer Financial Services 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Consumer Financial Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Consumer Financial Services sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Consumer Financial Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Consumer Financial Services industry.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can develop new processes and procedures in Consumer Financial Services 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.
Threats Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Consumer Financial Services industry are lowering. It can presents Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Consumer Financial Services sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest in Consumer Financial Services industry. The Consumer Financial Services 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.
Environmental challenges
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Consumer Financial Services industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Consumer Financial Services industry regulations.
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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Consumer Financial Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest.
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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest in the Consumer Financial Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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
– Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Consumer Financial Services industry.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Consumer Financial Services sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest 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 Guangdong Join-Share Guarantee Invest needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.