Extensive SWOT Analysis of ABB – World Leader In Power, Automation, and Microgrid Technologies

Updated on: Nov 10, 2021
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In the last blog, we dealt with the SWOT Analysis of the world’s leading producer of energy-efficient and resource-saving technology, Siemens. In this blog, we will be doing an extensive SWOT Analysis of ABB.

ABB is a world leader in power, automation, and microgrid technologies. It is also one of the top electrical equipment manufacturers in India. For the past 24 years, it has been in the Fortune 500 companies.

Though it has gained such large success in the industry, still it lacks in its social media presence. Which is essential in this digital era. With the use of digital marketing, it can increase its brand awareness in the market. ABB should use these methods to improve its business. If you are interested in learning what digital marketing is and how to use it to your advantage – check out our Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 by the CEO and Founder of IIDE, Karan Shah.

Thus this makes us keen to know how ABB maintains a prominent position in the market. To understand that we have given a Comprehensive SWOT Analysis of ABB. But before we start with its SWOT Analysis let us learn about ABB as a Company, its products & services, competitors, financials, and more.

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About ABB

ABB Headquarters - SWOT Analysis of ABB - IIDE

Founded in 1988, ABB Ltd is a Swedish-swiss multinational corporation. The corporation is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. With the ever-increasing urbanization, ABB identifies the rising need for automation and sustainable development. It has been delivering innovation for over 130 years.

​​ABB focuses on four leading business areas which are Robotics & Discrete Automation, Process Automation, Motion, and Electrification. 

It aims towards creating success for their customers in the most efficient way as if their customers are successful, it results in the success of their stakeholders as well. As a company, ABB is not only passionate about being profitable but is also passionate about preserving the environment’s health. They aim towards growth but in an efficient and safe manner for everyone.

Additionally, ABB focuses on merging both physical as well as digital worlds together. A challenge that the entire planet is presented with during this day and age.

Quick Stats About ABB

Founder NA
Year Founded 1988
Origin Zürich, Switzerland
No. of Employees 105,600 (2020)
Company Type Public
Market Cap $58.22 Billion (2020)
Annual Revenue $26 Billion (2020)
Net Loss $79 Million (2020)

 

Products & Services of ABB

ABB is an industrial giant with multiple engineering solutions for:

  • Electrification
  • Process Automation
  • Robotics & Discrete Automation
  • Industrial Machines

 

Close Competitors of ABB

ABB has many competitors to face in the market. With the growing demand in the industry, new companies are coming up creating large competition. Some of the top competitors for ABB are as follows:

  • Emerson
  • Honeywell
  • Valmet
  • Eaton
  • Siemens

 

Now that we have known about the company let us start with the SWOT Analysis of ABB.

 

SWOT ANALYSIS OF ABB

 

Infographics - SWOT Analysis of ABB | IIDE

SWOT analysis is nothing but a detailed analysis of a business in terms of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The importance of a SWOT analysis is to help a business understand where they stand, what they need to work on, and how to reach the next level of success.

Let us now start with its SWOT Analysis by first looking at the Strengths of ABB.

 

Strengths of ABB

Strengths are the internal factors that help ABB to Grow in the market. Thus keeping an eye on such advantages and finding out how it can improve in the market is very essential for a company. Following are some of the strengths of ABB:

  • Spread across many countries – ABB has 547 offices in 88 countries around the world. This no doubt gives them an edge by having widespread operations and using the best resources from each country.
  • Long-term contracts – In this industry, once a customer is satisfied with the automation services, the chances of them switching to your competitors are highly unlikely as switching costs are way higher when compared to other industries. Hence, this helps ABB remain profitable in the long run as well.
  • Brand Value – Due to ABB’s outstanding brand value, they have been able to successfully gain their audience’s trust and hence have proven to be a reliable organization.
  • Increasing urbanization leading towards higher demand – As the world is rapidly racing towards urbanization, the need for automation is ever rising. The forecasted demand for ABB’s products are quite high in the future.

 

Weaknesses of ABB

Weaknesses are the factors that affect the growth of ABB. These are the internal factors that affect the company which it needs to take into consideration and eliminate them. Following are the weaknesses of Abb:

  • High Capital Investment – Since the corporation deals with heavy and large machinery, their investments are much higher than in other industries. Although this cannot be eliminated, however, the corporation should look at ways to minimize such costs in order to remain competitive in the long run.
  • Technology needs constant research and development – Every day the need for technology changes with changes in customers’ needs. People expect technology to keep on updating as per the challenges that arise. Sticking true to this algorithm is quite difficult and in turn, requires a lot of time and effort into research and development. This is also quite expensive in the long run.
  • Bad Debts lead to huge losses – As the prices for such products and services are in such high volumes, if a customer ends up defaulting in payments due to losses, market crash, or bankruptcy, ABB has to bear such losses.

 

Opportunities for ABB

Opportunities are the external factors that affect the process of ABB in a positive way. They provide new modes of improvement and expansion in different categories. Following are some of the opportunities for ABB:

  • Focus on small-scale businesses as well – The corporation should work on innovative products for small-scale businesses as well. Something that is not as expensive when compared to large industries. Since the pandemic, many people have been encouraged to start their own business that is related to something that they are passionate about. Hence, catering to this rising sector will prove to be quite beneficial for ABB. Creative automation solutions to such companies will also help build ABB’s customer base and give the company an edge over its competitors as not many of ABB’s competitors are considering this aspect of the market. If done well, such a step will prove to be quite profitable for ABB in the coming future.
  • Collaboration with Governments – Governments all around the world are constantly working towards making their country more developed and efficient. Hence, collaborating with different governments may be a profitable decision and help the brand’s image as well. The aid of any kind such as financial aid or substitutes provided by the government will in return result in lowered costs and not only this but it will also help ABB build a strong foundation with governments of many countries in which ABB operates. This again gives the company a competitive advantage over other players in the market.
  • Increased awareness through Digital Marketing – Digital Marketing is the need of the hour. While researching details about ABB it was prominent that although they have an outstanding and user-friendly website, their social media presence did seem a bit non-existent. Many may debate that due to the industry that they are in, ABB has no need to be present on social media. However, in this new digital age, social media has a concealed power. Many businesses search for solutions via social media platforms. Hence, focusing on digital marketing as well will prove to be beneficial for the corporation.

 

Threats to ABB

Threats are the factors that create a problem for the functioning of the business. Thus ABB should be aware of such threats and create proper precautionary strategies to take care of them. Following are some of the threats for ABB.

  • Competitors – In any industry, competition does give rise to threats. This is the case for ABB as well, competitors like Emerson Electric, Honeywell, Valmet, etc are a few of the top contenders in the market. Their investments in product innovation and market research are a few practices that give them an edge over other companies. If ABB wishes to stay at the top, then the company should do a deep analysis of what its competitors are offering to the audience and how can ABB be better than them.
  • Environmental Regulations – Manufacturing heavy machinery does indeed have some negatives attached to it. Nowadays as everyone is environmentally sound, it is quite difficult to get away with the negative impact that a company may have on the environment. Along with this, even governments worldwide are now quite strict with their environmental policies. The introduction of such rules and regulations can also be referred to as the potential threats that ABB may have to face in the near future.
  • Increased IT Threats – Due to the rising threats in IT security, additional research and development will be required to overcome such problems in the future. This in turn also means increased investment in this department. Since such an issue cannot be overlooked this may affect the profitability of ABB because if IT threats are overlooked at then they may prove to be huge threats to the functioning of ABB.
  • Low-quality products – Nowadays it’s a child’s play to make counterfeit or duplicate products at a much lower price. This unethical practice possess a great threat to ABB’s product offerings. Many customers may opt for cheaper versions of ABB’s products which would heavily dent ABB’s sales and market share.

 

With this, we have reached the end of the SWOT Analysis of ABB. These studies help ABB to know where they stand in the market and find out what they can improve.

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Conclusion

On the study of the SWOT Analysis of ABB, we have known that it is a world leader in power, automation, and microgrid technologies. It has its branches in many countries over the world with a good brand value. It has opportunities like collaboration with the governments and increasing its awareness through digital marketing. Even though with such advantages it has some flaws in the market.

Due to the changing technology in the market, it has to research and innovate every now and then which creates a large expenditure and the increasing competitors in the market create a threat if they come up with better technologies in the market. 

Besides industries, it should also provide its services to small businesses which will create additional revenue for them and the best way to reach them is through digital marketing as most of its customers will be online it will be easier for them to reach them. If you are interested in learning and upskilling, check out IIDE’s 3 Month Advanced Online Digital Marketing Course to know more.

If you would like to read such detailed analyses of companies, find more such insightful case studies on our IIDE Knowledge portal.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and do share your thoughts on this case study in the comments section below.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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