Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Panalpina Welttransport Holding is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Panalpina Welttransport Holding
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Panalpina Welttransport Holding can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Panalpina Welttransport Holding, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Panalpina Welttransport Holding
2. Improving business portfolio management of Panalpina Welttransport Holding
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Airline sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Panalpina Welttransport Holding
Strengths of Panalpina Welttransport Holding | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Panalpina Welttransport Holding are -
Strong track record of project management in the Airline industry
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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.
Analytics focus
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Airline 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding is one of the most innovative firm in Airline sector.
Digital Transformation in Airline industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Panalpina Welttransport Holding digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Panalpina Welttransport Holding staying ahead in the Airline industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Panalpina Welttransport Holding emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Panalpina Welttransport Holding in Airline industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Panalpina Welttransport Holding
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Panalpina Welttransport Holding does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding is one of the leading players in the Airline industry in United Kingdom. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United Kingdom. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Panalpina Welttransport Holding to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses of Panalpina Welttransport Holding | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Panalpina Welttransport Holding are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Panalpina Welttransport Holding has high operating costs in the Airline industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Panalpina Welttransport Holding lucrative customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Airline industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United Kingdom, Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Airline industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Panalpina Welttransport Holding is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Airline industry, but Panalpina Welttransport Holding needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Panalpina Welttransport Holding to focus more on services in the Airline industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Panalpina Welttransport Holding has some of the most successful models in the Airline industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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, Panalpina Welttransport Holding is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Panalpina Welttransport Holding to provide better information regarding Airline products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Panalpina Welttransport Holding products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Panalpina Welttransport Holding needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Panalpina Welttransport Holding needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Airline industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Panalpina Welttransport Holding can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Panalpina Welttransport Holding is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on Panalpina Welttransport Holding ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Panalpina Welttransport Holding still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Airline industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Panalpina Welttransport Holding has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Panalpina Welttransport Holding is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Panalpina Welttransport Holding vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ less understanding of Panalpina Welttransport Holding strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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.
Panalpina Welttransport Holding Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Panalpina Welttransport Holding are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Airline industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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. Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Airline 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Panalpina Welttransport Holding in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Airline industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Airline industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Panalpina Welttransport Holding in the Airline industry. Now Panalpina Welttransport Holding can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Airline industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Panalpina Welttransport Holding can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Airline industry.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Panalpina Welttransport Holding can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Panalpina Welttransport Holding operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Airline sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Panalpina Welttransport Holding to increase its market reach. Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Airline sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Panalpina Welttransport Holding to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Panalpina Welttransport Holding can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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.
Threats Panalpina Welttransport Holding External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Panalpina Welttransport Holding are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Airline industry are lowering. It can presents Panalpina Welttransport Holding with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Airline sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Panalpina Welttransport Holding is facing in Airline sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Airline industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Panalpina Welttransport Holding may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Airline sector.
Increasing wage structure of Panalpina Welttransport Holding
– 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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. Panalpina Welttransport Holding can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Airline 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding in the Airline sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Airline industry regulations.
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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Airline industry and other sectors.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Panalpina Welttransport Holding high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Panalpina Welttransport Holding in Airline industry. The Airline 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Panalpina Welttransport Holding Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding 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 Panalpina Welttransport Holding needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
