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 - – technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing transportation and logistics costs, 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 -
Innovation driven organization
– Consultation Road is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
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.
Analytics focus
– Consultation Road 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 industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Howard Husock can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Consultation Road has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Consultation Road in the sector have low bargaining power. Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Consultation Road to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Consultation Road is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Consultation Road in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Consultation Road in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Consultation Road has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Consultation Road 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
– 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.
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 -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel) has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Consultation Road 's lucrative customers.
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.
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.
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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Consultation Road 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 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 Consultation Road supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Consultation Road vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Consultation Road 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.
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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Consultation Road 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. Consultation Road 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Consultation Road to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Consultation Road to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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.
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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Consultation Road 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
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.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Consultation Road in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Consultation Road can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Consultation Road operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 -
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.
Environmental challenges
– Consultation Road 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. Consultation Road can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Implementing Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore: Epilogue (Sequel), Consultation Road may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Consultation Road with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Consultation Road 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.
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.
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) .
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 Consultation Road business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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.