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Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System


In June 2014, Chartered Speed Private Limited, the contract provider for the much acclaimed Bus Rapid Transit System of Ahmedabad, India, would like to improve customer service in order to position itself strongly during upcoming contract renewal talks with Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited, the municipal body responsible for the system. Buses arrive at the company's workshops during the night for daily repairs and leave the next morning for their scheduled runs. However, given time and resource constraints, bus departures may either be delayed or buses may have to leave the workshop without the scheduled repair operations. Moreover, there is a long list of deficiencies with the buses or drivers and of incidents, such as accidents or breakdowns, that can result in financial penalties to the company. How should maintenance activities be designed to minimize the penalty losses and guarantee high customer service levels? Authors are affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

Authors :: Debjit Roy, John Joy, Vaibhav Malhotra

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Time management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System" written by Debjit Roy, John Joy, Vaibhav Malhotra includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ahmedabad Buses facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Time management and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System


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




Strengths Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Ahmedabad Buses in Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System Harvard Business Review case study are -

Learning organization

- Ahmedabad Buses 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 Ahmedabad Buses is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Diverse revenue streams

– Ahmedabad Buses is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Ahmedabad Buses in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Ahmedabad Buses 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 Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Ahmedabad Buses 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

– Ahmedabad Buses has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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.

Analytics focus

– Ahmedabad Buses 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 Debjit Roy, John Joy, Vaibhav Malhotra 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Ahmedabad Buses in the sector have low bargaining power. Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ahmedabad Buses to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Ahmedabad Buses 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 Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Ahmedabad Buses 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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.






Weaknesses Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System are -

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Ahmedabad Buses, firm in the HBR case study Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Lack of clear differentiation of Ahmedabad Buses products

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

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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 Ahmedabad Buses has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Ahmedabad Buses 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 - Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ahmedabad Buses is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System HBR case study mentions - Ahmedabad Buses 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ahmedabad Buses 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System, it seems that the employees of Ahmedabad Buses don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Need for greater diversity

– Ahmedabad Buses 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System, is just above the industry average. Ahmedabad Buses 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, Debjit Roy, John Joy, Vaibhav Malhotra suggests that, Ahmedabad Buses 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.




Opportunities Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System | 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 Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System are -

Finding new ways to collaborate

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

Better consumer reach

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

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 Ahmedabad Buses 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

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

Buying journey improvements

– Ahmedabad Buses can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ahmedabad Buses 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, Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ahmedabad Buses 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. Ahmedabad Buses 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ahmedabad Buses 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Ahmedabad Buses has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ahmedabad Buses to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System case study. Ahmedabad Buses can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Ahmedabad Buses can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Ahmedabad Buses can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.




Threats Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System are -

Easy access to finance

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

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 Ahmedabad Buses.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Ahmedabad Buses is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Increasing wage structure of Ahmedabad Buses

– 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 Ahmedabad Buses.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ahmedabad Buses 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 Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System .

Environmental challenges

– Ahmedabad Buses 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. Ahmedabad Buses can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.

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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Ahmedabad Buses with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ahmedabad Buses in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Ahmedabad Buses 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.

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 Ahmedabad Buses business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Ahmedabad Buses 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System, Ahmedabad Buses may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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 Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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 Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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 Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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 Chartered Speed and the Bus Rapid Transit System 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 Ahmedabad Buses needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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