Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Guangdong Yueyun Transportation is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Guangdong Yueyun Transportation can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Guangdong Yueyun Transportation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Yueyun Transportation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation
2. Improving business portfolio management of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Misc. Transportation sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation
Strengths of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation are -
Innovation driven organization
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Transportation sector.
Training and development
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation in Misc. Transportation industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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.
Organizational Resilience of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Guangdong Yueyun Transportation does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Transportation 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation industry in Hong Kong. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Hong Kong. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Misc. Transportation
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation industry in Hong Kong. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Transportation industry in Hong Kong but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Guangdong Yueyun Transportation in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management in the Misc. Transportation industry
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Misc. Transportation industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Misc. Transportation industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Guangdong Yueyun Transportation digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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.
Weaknesses of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Misc. Transportation industry over the last five years. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. 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 Guangdong Yueyun Transportation ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Transportation industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Guangdong Yueyun Transportation is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Misc. Transportation industry in last five years.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Transportation industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Transportation industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Misc. Transportation industry.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Guangdong Yueyun Transportation vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has high operating costs in the Misc. Transportation industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Guangdong Yueyun Transportation lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Guangdong Yueyun Transportation, in the dynamic environment of Misc. Transportation industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Guangdong Yueyun Transportation strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Yueyun Transportation Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Misc. Transportation industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Transportation industry. This can help Guangdong Yueyun Transportation to build a more holistic ecosystem for Guangdong Yueyun Transportation products in the Misc. Transportation industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Misc. Transportation sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Guangdong Yueyun Transportation to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation can utilize new technology in the field of Misc. 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, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Guangdong Yueyun Transportation operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Transportation sector.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Misc. Transportation industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Guangdong Yueyun Transportation to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Transportation industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Guangdong Yueyun Transportation in the Misc. Transportation industry. Now Guangdong Yueyun Transportation can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Yueyun Transportation can develop new processes and procedures in Misc. 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.
Threats Guangdong Yueyun Transportation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation are -
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Transportation industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. 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.
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 Yueyun Transportation.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Misc. Transportation industry and other sectors.
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. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Transportation industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Misc. Transportation industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Yueyun Transportation can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Transportation industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Guangdong Yueyun Transportation prominent markets.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Misc. Transportation industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Guangdong Yueyun Transportation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Guangdong Yueyun Transportation may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Transportation sector.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Misc. Transportation industry are lowering. It can presents Guangdong Yueyun Transportation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Misc. Transportation sector.
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 Yueyun Transportation in the Misc. Transportation sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Guangdong Yueyun Transportation Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Guangdong Yueyun Transportation 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 Yueyun Transportation 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 Yueyun Transportation 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 Yueyun Transportation 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 Yueyun Transportation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
