Nobina publ AB (0R8O) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Nobina publ AB (United Kingdom)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Nobina publ AB is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nobina publ AB

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Nobina publ AB can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nobina publ AB, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nobina publ AB 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Nobina publ AB can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Nobina publ AB
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nobina publ AB
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Misc. Transportation sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Nobina publ AB

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Strengths of Nobina publ AB | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Nobina publ AB are -

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Nobina publ AB in Misc. Transportation industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Nobina publ AB 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.

Ability to lead change in Misc. Transportation

– Nobina publ AB is one of the leading players in the Misc. Transportation industry in United Kingdom. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Misc. Transportation industry in United Kingdom but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Nobina publ AB in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy of Nobina publ AB comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Misc. Transportation 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Innovation driven organization

– Nobina publ AB is one of the most innovative firm in Misc. Transportation sector.

Digital Transformation in Misc. Transportation industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Nobina publ AB digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Nobina publ AB 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Nobina publ AB is present in almost all the verticals within the Misc. Transportation industry. This has provided Nobina publ AB 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Nobina publ AB has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Nobina publ AB staying ahead in the Misc. Transportation industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Misc. Transportation industry

– Nobina publ AB has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nobina publ AB to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Misc. Transportation industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nobina publ AB to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Learning organization

- Nobina publ AB 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 Nobina publ AB is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Nobina publ AB emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Analytics focus

– Nobina publ AB 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 Misc. Transportation industry. The technology infrastructure of United Kingdom 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.

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Weaknesses of Nobina publ AB | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Nobina publ AB are -

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Nobina publ AB is just above the Misc. Transportation 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative at Nobina publ AB, in the dynamic environment of Misc. Transportation industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nobina publ AB has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Lack of clear differentiation of Nobina publ AB products

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

Products dominated business model

– Even though Nobina publ AB has some of the most successful models in the Misc. Transportation industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Nobina publ AB should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

High dependence on Nobina publ AB ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Nobina publ AB still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Misc. Transportation industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Nobina publ AB has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High bargaining power of channel partners in Misc. Transportation industry

– because of the regulatory requirements in United Kingdom, Nobina publ AB 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 Misc. Transportation industry.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nobina publ AB is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Nobina publ AB to provide better information regarding Misc. Transportation products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Nobina publ AB 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.

Skills based hiring in Misc. Transportation industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Nobina publ AB 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 cash cycle compare to competitors

Nobina publ AB has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Misc. Transportation industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Nobina publ AB has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Misc. Transportation industry over the last five years. Nobina publ AB 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.

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Nobina publ AB Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Nobina publ AB are -

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. Nobina publ AB can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Misc. Transportation industry

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Nobina publ AB in the Misc. Transportation industry. Now Nobina publ AB can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Loyalty marketing

– Nobina publ AB 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, Nobina publ AB can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Nobina publ AB operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Misc. Transportation sector.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nobina publ AB 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.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nobina publ AB is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Nobina publ AB can utilize new technology in the field of Misc. Transportation industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– consumer behavior has changed in the Misc. Transportation industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Nobina publ AB 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. Nobina publ AB 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 Misc. Transportation industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Nobina publ AB can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Nobina publ AB has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Misc. Transportation sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Nobina publ AB to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nobina publ AB to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Reforming the budgeting process

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

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 Nobina publ AB 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Nobina publ AB has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Misc. Transportation industry. This can help Nobina publ AB to build a more holistic ecosystem for Nobina publ AB products in the Misc. Transportation industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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Threats Nobina publ AB External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Nobina publ AB are -

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 wage structure of Nobina publ AB

– 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 Nobina publ AB.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Nobina publ AB has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Misc. Transportation industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nobina publ AB needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Misc. Transportation 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Nobina publ AB 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 Misc. Transportation industry regulations.

Environmental challenges

– Nobina publ AB 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. Nobina publ AB can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Misc. Transportation industry.

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. Nobina publ AB needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Misc. Transportation industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Nobina publ AB.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Nobina publ AB 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.

Easy access to finance

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

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 Nobina publ AB in the Misc. Transportation sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Nobina publ AB may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Misc. Transportation sector.

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. Nobina publ AB will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Nobina publ AB 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 Nobina publ AB prominent markets.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nobina publ AB Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Nobina publ AB 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 Nobina publ AB 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 Nobina publ AB 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 Nobina publ AB 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 Nobina publ AB needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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