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Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance


Singapore Post Limited (SingPost), Singapore's sole Public Postal Licensee, had set its sights on becoming the regional leader in e-commerce logistics and trusted communications. This goal was achieved through multi-million-dollar acquisitions in warehouses, freight forwarders, and parcel pickup services. Among the acquisitions were the 'Famous Acquisitions' comprising Famous Holdings Pte Ltd, FS Mackenzie Limited, and Famous Pacific Shipping (NZ) Limited. Between December 2015 and May 2016, a chain of events related to the 'Famous Acquisitions' unfolded at SingPost: its public admission of lapses in corporate governance disclosure, a special audit, a corporate governance review, resignation of the lead independent director, and change of the board chairman. The case discusses these events and describes what SingPost subsequently did to improve its corporate governance practices.

Authors :: Kim Wai Ho, Shirley Koh, Yin Kheng Lau

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Corporate governance, Mergers & acquisitions, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance" written by Kim Wai Ho, Shirley Koh, Yin Kheng Lau includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Famous Singpost facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Mergers & acquisitions and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Famous Singpost, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Famous Singpost 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Famous Singpost
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Famous Singpost




Strengths Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Famous Singpost in Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance Harvard Business Review case study are -

Learning organization

- Famous Singpost 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 Famous Singpost is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Famous Singpost to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Famous Singpost to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Famous Singpost in the sector have low bargaining power. Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Famous Singpost to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Organizational Resilience of Famous Singpost

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Famous Singpost does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Famous Singpost 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

– Famous Singpost is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Famous Singpost is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

High brand equity

– Famous Singpost has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Famous Singpost to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Famous Singpost 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Famous Singpost 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Famous Singpost has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Famous Singpost 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.






Weaknesses Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance are -

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 Famous Singpost supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Famous Singpost vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Famous Singpost is planning to shift buying processes online.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Famous Singpost 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance, is just above the industry average. Famous Singpost 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Famous Singpost, firm in the HBR case study Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Famous Singpost has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Famous Singpost 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Famous Singpost has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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 Famous Singpost 's lucrative customers.

Lack of clear differentiation of Famous Singpost products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Famous Singpost needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Famous Singpost 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.




Opportunities Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance | 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Famous Singpost has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Famous Singpost to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance case study. Famous Singpost 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 Famous Singpost 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Famous Singpost 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.

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 Famous Singpost 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.

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 Famous Singpost in the consumer business. Now Famous Singpost can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Famous Singpost can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Famous Singpost 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Famous Singpost to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Famous Singpost 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 Finance & Accounting segment.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Famous Singpost in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

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. Famous Singpost can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Famous Singpost is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Famous Singpost can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Famous Singpost 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 Famous Singpost to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.




Threats Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance are -

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 Famous Singpost in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Famous Singpost 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Famous Singpost 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Famous Singpost in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Famous Singpost can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Increasing wage structure of Famous Singpost

– 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 Famous Singpost.

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 Famous Singpost.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Famous Singpost has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Famous Singpost needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.

Environmental challenges

– Famous Singpost 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. Famous Singpost can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

Regulatory challenges

– Famous Singpost 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.

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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Famous Singpost 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance .

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance, Famous Singpost may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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 Singapore Post Limited: 'Famous Acquisitions' and Corporate Governance 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 Famous Singpost needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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