SafeCharge Intl Group (SCHS) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Consumer Financial Services
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for SafeCharge Intl Group (United Kingdom)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , SafeCharge Intl Group is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SafeCharge Intl Group
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that SafeCharge Intl Group can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the SafeCharge Intl Group, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of SafeCharge Intl Group
2. Improving business portfolio management of SafeCharge Intl Group
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Consumer Financial Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of SafeCharge Intl Group
Strengths of SafeCharge Intl Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of SafeCharge Intl Group are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– SafeCharge Intl Group has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – SafeCharge Intl Group staying ahead in the Consumer Financial Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of SafeCharge Intl Group in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. SafeCharge Intl Group has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps SafeCharge Intl Group to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Consumer Financial Services industry
– SafeCharge Intl Group has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled SafeCharge Intl Group to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Consumer Financial Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped SafeCharge Intl Group to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of SafeCharge Intl Group comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Consumer Financial Services 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.
Organizational Resilience of SafeCharge Intl Group
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing SafeCharge Intl Group does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– SafeCharge Intl Group has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. SafeCharge Intl Group 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of SafeCharge Intl Group in Consumer Financial Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– SafeCharge Intl Group is one of the most innovative firm in Consumer Financial Services sector.
Learning organization
- SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at SafeCharge Intl Group emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– SafeCharge Intl Group is one of the leading players in the Consumer Financial Services 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the SafeCharge Intl Group 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
– SafeCharge Intl Group has one of the best training and development program in Financial 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.
Weaknesses of SafeCharge Intl Group | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SafeCharge Intl Group are -
Employees’ less understanding of SafeCharge Intl Group strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of SafeCharge Intl Group 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.
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 SafeCharge Intl Group supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, SafeCharge Intl Group is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left SafeCharge Intl Group vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of SafeCharge Intl Group is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Consumer Financial Services industry, but SafeCharge Intl Group needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help SafeCharge Intl Group to focus more on services in the Consumer Financial Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Consumer Financial Services industry, SafeCharge Intl Group needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Products dominated business model
– Even though SafeCharge Intl Group has some of the most successful models in the Consumer Financial Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. SafeCharge Intl Group should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of SafeCharge Intl Group, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Consumer Financial Services 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, SafeCharge Intl Group is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help SafeCharge Intl Group to provide better information regarding Consumer Financial Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, SafeCharge Intl Group 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
SafeCharge Intl Group has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Consumer Financial Services 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SafeCharge Intl Group is one of the leading players in the Consumer Financial Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Consumer Financial Services industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that SafeCharge Intl Group needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Consumer Financial Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at SafeCharge Intl Group can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as SafeCharge Intl Group is planning to shift buying processes online.
SafeCharge Intl Group Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of SafeCharge Intl Group are -
Manufacturing automation
– SafeCharge Intl Group can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Consumer Financial Services 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for SafeCharge Intl Group in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Consumer Financial Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Consumer Financial Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. SafeCharge Intl Group 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. SafeCharge Intl Group 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Consumer Financial Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for SafeCharge Intl Group in the Consumer Financial Services industry. Now SafeCharge Intl Group can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– SafeCharge Intl Group 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– SafeCharge Intl Group has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Consumer Financial Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled SafeCharge Intl Group to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help SafeCharge Intl Group to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– SafeCharge Intl Group can develop new processes and procedures in Consumer Financial Services 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help SafeCharge Intl Group to increase its market reach. SafeCharge Intl Group 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for SafeCharge Intl Group 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at SafeCharge Intl Group 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 Consumer Financial Services industry.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Consumer Financial Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. SafeCharge Intl Group can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats SafeCharge Intl Group External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of SafeCharge Intl Group are -
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, SafeCharge Intl Group may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Consumer Financial Services sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Consumer Financial Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. SafeCharge Intl Group can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– SafeCharge Intl Group 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 Consumer Financial Services 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 SafeCharge Intl Group in the Consumer Financial Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. SafeCharge Intl Group needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Consumer Financial Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for SafeCharge Intl Group in Consumer Financial Services industry. The Consumer Financial Services 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group prominent markets.
Environmental challenges
– SafeCharge Intl Group 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. SafeCharge Intl Group can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Consumer Financial Services industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– SafeCharge Intl Group has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Consumer Financial Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, SafeCharge Intl Group needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Consumer Financial Services 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
– SafeCharge Intl Group 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 Consumer Financial Services industry regulations.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– SafeCharge Intl Group 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.
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 SafeCharge Intl Group.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SafeCharge Intl Group Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group 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 SafeCharge Intl Group needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.