Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Mongolian Mining Corp is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption,
there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mongolian Mining Corp
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Mongolian Mining Corp can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mongolian Mining Corp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Mongolian Mining Corp can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Mongolian Mining Corp
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mongolian Mining Corp
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Hong Kong
4. Making a Coal sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mongolian Mining Corp
Strengths of Mongolian Mining Corp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mongolian Mining Corp are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mongolian Mining Corp 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.
Training and development
– Mongolian Mining Corp has one of the best training and development program in Energy 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 Mongolian Mining Corp in Coal industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mongolian Mining Corp has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Mongolian Mining Corp staying ahead in the Coal industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mongolian Mining Corp has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mongolian Mining Corp 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 lead change in Coal
– Mongolian Mining Corp is one of the leading players in the Coal industry in Hong Kong. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Coal industry in Hong Kong but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Mongolian Mining Corp in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mongolian Mining Corp is present in almost all the verticals within the Coal industry. This has provided Mongolian Mining Corp a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Innovation driven organization
– Mongolian Mining Corp is one of the most innovative firm in Coal sector.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mongolian Mining Corp in the Energy sector have low bargaining power. Mongolian Mining Corp has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mongolian Mining Corp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Coal 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.
Digital Transformation in Coal industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Mongolian Mining Corp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Mongolian Mining Corp 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mongolian Mining Corp has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Coal industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Mongolian Mining Corp have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of Mongolian Mining Corp | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mongolian Mining Corp are -
High dependence on Mongolian Mining Corp ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Mongolian Mining Corp still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Coal industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Mongolian Mining Corp has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Coal industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong, Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Coal industry.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mongolian Mining Corp has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Coal industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Mongolian Mining Corp is just above the Coal 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Mongolian Mining Corp, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Coal 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mongolian Mining Corp is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Mongolian Mining Corp to provide better information regarding Coal products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Mongolian Mining Corp is one of the leading players in the Coal industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Coal industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring in Coal industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mongolian Mining Corp 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mongolian Mining Corp products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mongolian Mining Corp needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mongolian Mining Corp has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Coal industry over the last five years. Mongolian Mining Corp 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Mongolian Mining Corp has high operating costs in the Coal industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Mongolian Mining Corp lucrative customers.
Mongolian Mining Corp Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Mongolian Mining Corp are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mongolian Mining Corp 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Mongolian Mining Corp to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mongolian Mining Corp in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Coal industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mongolian Mining Corp has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Coal industry. This can help Mongolian Mining Corp to build a more holistic ecosystem for Mongolian Mining Corp products in the Coal industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Coal industry.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mongolian Mining Corp has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Coal sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Mongolian Mining Corp to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mongolian Mining Corp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Coal industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Mongolian Mining Corp in the Coal industry. Now Mongolian Mining Corp can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Mongolian Mining Corp to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mongolian Mining Corp can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Coal industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mongolian Mining Corp 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
– Mongolian Mining Corp 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Mongolian Mining Corp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Coal 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 Mongolian Mining Corp to increase its market reach. Mongolian Mining Corp 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.
Threats Mongolian Mining Corp External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Mongolian Mining Corp are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Mongolian Mining Corp may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Coal sector.
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 Mongolian Mining Corp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mongolian Mining Corp 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.
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. Mongolian Mining Corp 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.
Increasing wage structure of Mongolian Mining Corp
– 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 Mongolian Mining Corp.
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
– Mongolian Mining Corp has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Coal industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mongolian Mining Corp needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Coal 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mongolian Mining Corp in Coal industry. The Coal 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
– Mongolian Mining Corp 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. Mongolian Mining Corp can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Coal industry.
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. Mongolian Mining Corp needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Coal industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Mongolian Mining Corp in the Coal sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Coal industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mongolian Mining Corp is facing in Coal sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mongolian Mining Corp Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Mongolian Mining Corp 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 Mongolian Mining Corp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.