Shunfeng Clean Energy (1165) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Semiconductors
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Shunfeng Clean Energy (Hong Kong)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Shunfeng Clean Energy is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shunfeng Clean Energy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Shunfeng Clean Energy can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Shunfeng Clean Energy, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Shunfeng Clean Energy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Shunfeng Clean Energy
2. Improving business portfolio management of Shunfeng Clean Energy
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Semiconductors sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Shunfeng Clean Energy
Strengths of Shunfeng Clean Energy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Shunfeng Clean Energy are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Shunfeng Clean Energy in Semiconductors industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Semiconductors industry
– Shunfeng Clean Energy has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Shunfeng Clean Energy to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Semiconductors industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Shunfeng Clean Energy to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Shunfeng Clean Energy has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Shunfeng Clean Energy 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.
Organizational Resilience of Shunfeng Clean Energy
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Shunfeng Clean Energy does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Shunfeng Clean Energy has one of the best training and development program in Technology 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Shunfeng Clean Energy is one of the most innovative firm in Semiconductors sector.
Learning organization
- Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Shunfeng Clean Energy is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Shunfeng Clean Energy emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Semiconductors industry
– Shunfeng Clean Energy is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Shunfeng Clean Energy comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Semiconductors industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Shunfeng Clean Energy is one of the leading players in the Semiconductors 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.
High brand equity
– Shunfeng Clean Energy has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Shunfeng Clean Energy to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Shunfeng Clean Energy 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.
Weaknesses of Shunfeng Clean Energy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shunfeng Clean Energy are -
Skills based hiring in Semiconductors industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Shunfeng Clean Energy 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Shunfeng Clean Energy is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Shunfeng Clean Energy to provide better information regarding Semiconductors products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Shunfeng Clean Energy products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Shunfeng Clean Energy needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on Shunfeng Clean Energy ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Shunfeng Clean Energy still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Semiconductors industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Shunfeng Clean Energy has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Shunfeng Clean Energy 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Shunfeng Clean Energy is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Semiconductors industry, but Shunfeng Clean Energy needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Shunfeng Clean Energy to focus more on services in the Semiconductors industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Semiconductors industry using digital technology.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Semiconductors industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong, Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Semiconductors industry.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Shunfeng Clean Energy has high operating costs in the Semiconductors industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Shunfeng Clean Energy lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Shunfeng Clean Energy is just above the Semiconductors industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Employees’ less understanding of Shunfeng Clean Energy strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Shunfeng Clean Energy 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.
Shunfeng Clean Energy Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Shunfeng Clean Energy are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Shunfeng Clean Energy can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Shunfeng Clean Energy operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Semiconductors sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Shunfeng Clean Energy can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Shunfeng Clean Energy is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shunfeng Clean Energy can utilize new technology in the field of Semiconductors industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Shunfeng Clean Energy in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Semiconductors industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Shunfeng Clean Energy can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Semiconductors 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Semiconductors industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Shunfeng Clean Energy in the Semiconductors industry. Now Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Semiconductors industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Shunfeng Clean Energy 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. Shunfeng Clean Energy 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Shunfeng Clean Energy 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Shunfeng Clean Energy can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Semiconductors industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Shunfeng Clean Energy to increase its market reach. Shunfeng Clean Energy will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Semiconductors industry.
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. Shunfeng Clean Energy can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Shunfeng Clean Energy has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Semiconductors sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Shunfeng Clean Energy to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Shunfeng Clean Energy to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Shunfeng Clean Energy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Shunfeng Clean Energy are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Semiconductors industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Semiconductors industry are lowering. It can presents Shunfeng Clean Energy with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Semiconductors sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Shunfeng Clean Energy has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Semiconductors industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Shunfeng Clean Energy needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Semiconductors 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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Shunfeng Clean Energy in Semiconductors industry. The Semiconductors 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.
Increasing wage structure of Shunfeng Clean Energy
– 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 Shunfeng Clean Energy.
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.
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 Shunfeng Clean Energy.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Shunfeng Clean Energy prominent markets.
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. Shunfeng Clean Energy 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Shunfeng Clean Energy may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Semiconductors sector.
Environmental challenges
– Shunfeng Clean Energy 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. Shunfeng Clean Energy can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Semiconductors industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Semiconductors industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shunfeng Clean Energy Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Shunfeng Clean Energy 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 Shunfeng Clean Energy needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.