Container India (CCRI) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Railroads
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Container India (India)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Container India is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Container India can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Container India, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Container India 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 Container India can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Container India
2. Improving business portfolio management of Container India
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in India
4. Making a Railroads sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Container India
Strengths of Container India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Container India are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Container India is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry in India. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in India. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Container India 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Container India is one of the most innovative firm in Railroads sector.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Container India in the Transportation sector have low bargaining power. Container India has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Container India to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Container India
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Container India does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Container India has one of the best training and development program in Transportation industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Ability to lead change in Railroads
– Container India is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry in India. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Railroads industry in India but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Container India in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management in the Railroads industry
– Container India is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Railroads industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Container India digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Container India has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High brand equity
– Container India has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Container India to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Container India 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 Railroads industry. The technology infrastructure of India is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Container India has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Railroads industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Container India have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of Container India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Container India are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Container India has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Railroads industry over the last five years. Container India even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
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 Container India supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Container India is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Container India vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Container India needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Railroads industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Container India can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Container India is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Container India is just above the Railroads industry average. It 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Container India is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Railroads industry in last five years.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Container India, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Railroads industry. 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Container India has some of the most successful models in the Railroads industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Container India should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Container India 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.
High dependence on Container India ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Container India still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Railroads industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Container India has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Container India 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Container India is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Container India to provide better information regarding Railroads products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Container India Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Container India are -
Manufacturing automation
– Container India can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Railroads sector. 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Container India is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Container India can utilize new technology in the field of Railroads industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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 Container India 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Container India 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
– Container India 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.
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. Container India can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Container India 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Container India can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Container India operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Railroads sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Container India has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Railroads industry. This can help Container India to build a more holistic ecosystem for Container India products in the Railroads industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Container India can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Railroads industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It 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, Container India 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 Container India to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Container India 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Container India can develop new processes and procedures in Railroads 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 Container India External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Container India are -
Regulatory challenges
– Container India 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 Railroads industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Container India is facing in Railroads sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Container India business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Container India 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 Railroads industry and other sectors.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Container India may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Railroads sector.
Increasing wage structure of Container India
– 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 Container India.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Container India 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 Container India prominent markets.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Container India 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 Railroads industry.
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 Container India in the Railroads sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Railroads industry are lowering. It can presents Container India with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Railroads sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Railroads industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Container India can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Container India needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Railroads industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Container India Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Container India 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 Container India 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 Container India 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 Container India 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 Container India needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.