Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call
With anaemic trade growth and weakened demand in shipping, port and terminal operator PSA International saw a drop in its profits in 2016. PSA was faced with two major challenges -- increase port productivity and maintain strong returns in an era of capital abundance and low interest rates.
Swot Analysis of "Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call" written by Rainny Shuyan Xie, Boon Siong Neo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Port Psa facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Productivity, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Port Psa, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Port Psa 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Port Psa
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 Port Psa
Strengths Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Port Psa in Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Port Psa in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Port Psa is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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.
High brand equity
– Port Psa has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Port Psa to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Port Psa 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.
Training and development
– Port Psa has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Port Psa is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Port Psa 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Port Psa 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 Rainny Shuyan Xie, Boon Siong Neo 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Port Psa 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Port Psa to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Port Psa to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Port Psa is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Port Psa is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call, in the dynamic environment Port Psa has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Port Psa has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Port Psa 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Port Psa 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.
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 Port Psa supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Port Psa vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Port Psa products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Port Psa 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call, is just above the industry average. Port Psa 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rainny Shuyan Xie, Boon Siong Neo suggests that, Port Psa 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 industry.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Port Psa, firm in the HBR case study Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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 Port Psa 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call HBR case study mentions - Port Psa 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.
Opportunities Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call | 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Port Psa 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, Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Port Psa 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Port Psa 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Port Psa 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 Port Psa to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Port Psa 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Port Psa 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.
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. Port Psa can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Port Psa can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Port Psa has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Port Psa to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call case study. Port Psa can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Port Psa 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Port Psa 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 Port Psa 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Port Psa to increase its market reach. Port Psa 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Port Psa has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Port Psa 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.
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 Port Psa business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Port Psa in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Port Psa 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Port Psa 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. Port Psa 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.
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. Port Psa needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Port Psa 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Port Psa 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.
Increasing wage structure of Port Psa
– 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 Port Psa.
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. Port Psa 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Port Psa 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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 Transforming PSA from the Singapore Port to the World's Port of Call 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 Port Psa needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
