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Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry


Gives an account of how a ship management company was able to set itself apart from competitors and from its clients' own in-house technical and crew management capabilities by embracing a culture of continuous improvement and implementing Total Quality Management systems. The shipping industry was not alone in being regulated, but its distinctly international nature made ship managers, as cost-cutting practitioners, particularly open to criticism. A ship management company's very existence hinged upon its ability to convince ship owners that it would preserve their valuable assets and maximize revenue-earning potential--demonstrating that its collective skills were superior and more cost effective. As a result, an effective quality assurance system that continuously improved the organization's human and business systems could enhance efficiency and have a significant marketing impact.

Authors :: Ali Farhoomand, Amir Hoosain

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Customers, International business, Product development, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry" written by Ali Farhoomand, Amir Hoosain includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ship Shipping facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, International business, Product development and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry


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




Strengths Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Ship Shipping in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Learning organization

- Ship Shipping 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 Ship Shipping is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Training and development

– Ship Shipping has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Ship Shipping is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 switching costs

– The high switching costs that Ship Shipping 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.

High brand equity

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

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Ship Shipping in the sector have low bargaining power. Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ship Shipping to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Organizational Resilience of Ship Shipping

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

Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field

– Ship Shipping 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 Ship Shipping in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry

– Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ship Shipping to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ship Shipping to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Ship Shipping 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.






Weaknesses Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry are -

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Ship Shipping 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.

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 Ship Shipping supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ship Shipping vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Ship Shipping is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Ship Shipping needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ship Shipping to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ali Farhoomand, Amir Hoosain suggests that, Ship Shipping 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, in the dynamic environment Ship Shipping has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ship Shipping has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Ship Shipping 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, Ship Shipping 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, is just above the industry average. Ship Shipping 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Ship Shipping 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.




Opportunities Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry | 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry are -

Leveraging digital technologies

– Ship Shipping 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Ship Shipping can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Ship Shipping 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 Ship Shipping can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ship Shipping can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ship Shipping operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ship Shipping to increase its market reach. Ship Shipping 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.

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. Ship Shipping can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Ship Shipping 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 Technology & Operations segment.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ship Shipping 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. Ship Shipping 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ship Shipping can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ship Shipping 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.

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

Manufacturing automation

– Ship Shipping can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.




Threats Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry are -

Regulatory challenges

– Ship Shipping 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.

Increasing wage structure of Ship Shipping

– 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 Ship Shipping.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Ship Shipping 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.

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 Ship Shipping in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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 Ship Shipping.

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. Ship Shipping needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ship Shipping in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Ship Shipping 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Ship Shipping has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ship Shipping needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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. Ship Shipping 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.

Environmental challenges

– Ship Shipping 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. Ship Shipping can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ship Shipping 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry .

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry, Ship Shipping may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Eurasia International: Total Quality Management in the Shipping Industry 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 Ship Shipping needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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