Case Study Description of Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel)
The case describes the internationally known Singapore initiative to implement electronically deducted charges for road use, varying by route, type of vehicle, and time of day. The case highlights the widespread public acceptance of the relatively elaborate and novel pricing regime, following an extensive public information and consultation campaign conducted by Singapore's Land Transport Authority. Useful for those interested in successful public consultation. HKS Case Number 1520.0
Swot Analysis of "Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel)" written by Howard Husock includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Consultation Road facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Pricing, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Consultation Road, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Consultation Road 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 Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Consultation Road
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Consultation Road
Strengths Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Consultation Road in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Consultation Road
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Consultation Road does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Consultation Road has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Consultation Road to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Consultation Road 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
– Consultation Road has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Consultation Road to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Consultation Road to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Consultation Road 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Consultation Road 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Consultation Road is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) case study 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the 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
- Consultation Road 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 Consultation Road is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Consultation Road is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Consultation Road has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Weaknesses Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Consultation Road 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Consultation Road is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Consultation Road needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Consultation Road to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Consultation Road 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 industry using digital technology.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) HBR case study mentions - Consultation Road takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Consultation Road has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Need for greater diversity
– Consultation Road has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Lack of clear differentiation of Consultation Road products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Consultation Road needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel), is just above the industry average. Consultation Road 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Consultation Road is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Consultation Road 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.
Opportunities Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Consultation Road has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Consultation Road to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) case study. Consultation Road can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Consultation Road 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, as suggested in case study, Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Consultation Road can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Consultation Road can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) suggest that firm 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Consultation Road can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Consultation Road can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Consultation Road 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Consultation Road can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Consultation Road in the consumer business. Now Consultation Road 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 Consultation Road 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Consultation Road 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Consultation Road has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Consultation Road to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Consultation Road to increase its market reach. Consultation Road 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 Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Consultation Road 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 field.
Increasing wage structure of Consultation Road
– 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 Consultation Road.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Consultation Road can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Consultation Road in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Consultation Road 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 prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) .
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 Consultation Road.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Consultation Road 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 the industry and other sectors.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Consultation Road is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Consultation Road has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Consultation Road needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
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. Consultation Road 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Consultation Road 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) 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 the case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) 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 the Harvard case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) 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 Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) is 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 Consultation Road needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
