SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for DP Eurasia (United Kingdom)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , DP Eurasia is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that DP Eurasia can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the DP Eurasia, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of DP Eurasia
2. Improving business portfolio management of DP Eurasia
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Restaurants sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of DP Eurasia
Strengths of DP Eurasia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of DP Eurasia are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– DP Eurasia has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – DP Eurasia staying ahead in the Restaurants industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– DP Eurasia 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 Restaurants 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the DP Eurasia 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that DP Eurasia 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 recruit top talent
– DP Eurasia is one of the leading players in the Restaurants 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of DP Eurasia in Restaurants industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of DP Eurasia
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing DP Eurasia does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of DP Eurasia in the Services sector have low bargaining power. DP Eurasia has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps DP Eurasia to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at DP Eurasia emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management in the Restaurants industry
– DP Eurasia is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Restaurants industry
– DP Eurasia has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled DP Eurasia to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Restaurants industry. The sustainable margins have also helped DP Eurasia to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Restaurants
– DP Eurasia is one of the leading players in the Restaurants industry in United Kingdom. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Restaurants industry in United Kingdom but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled DP Eurasia in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of DP Eurasia | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of DP Eurasia are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, DP Eurasia has high operating costs in the Restaurants industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract DP Eurasia lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Restaurants industry, DP Eurasia 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of DP Eurasia is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Restaurants industry, but DP Eurasia needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help DP Eurasia to focus more on services in the Restaurants industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at DP Eurasia, in the dynamic environment of Restaurants industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. DP Eurasia has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of DP Eurasia is just above the Restaurants 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though DP Eurasia has some of the most successful models in the Restaurants industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. DP Eurasia should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that DP Eurasia needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Restaurants industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at DP Eurasia can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as DP Eurasia is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 DP Eurasia supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, DP Eurasia is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left DP Eurasia vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Restaurants industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United Kingdom, DP Eurasia 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 Restaurants industry.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of DP Eurasia, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Restaurants 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, DP Eurasia is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help DP Eurasia to provide better information regarding Restaurants products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
DP Eurasia Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of DP Eurasia are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at DP Eurasia 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 Restaurants industry.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, DP Eurasia 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Restaurants industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for DP Eurasia in the Restaurants industry. Now DP Eurasia can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help DP Eurasia to increase its market reach. DP Eurasia 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– DP Eurasia can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Restaurants 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Restaurants industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. DP Eurasia 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. DP Eurasia 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– DP Eurasia has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Restaurants sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled DP Eurasia to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help DP Eurasia to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Restaurants industry. This can help DP Eurasia to build a more holistic ecosystem for DP Eurasia products in the Restaurants industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, DP Eurasia can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that DP Eurasia operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Restaurants sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. DP Eurasia can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats DP Eurasia External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of DP Eurasia are -
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. DP Eurasia needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Restaurants industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– DP Eurasia 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. DP Eurasia can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Restaurants industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, DP Eurasia may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Restaurants sector.
Regulatory challenges
– DP Eurasia 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 Restaurants industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Restaurants industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. DP Eurasia can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– DP Eurasia 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.
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. DP Eurasia 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, DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia prominent markets.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– DP Eurasia 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 Restaurants industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Restaurants industry are lowering. It can presents DP Eurasia with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Restaurants sector.
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 DP Eurasia in the Restaurants sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of DP Eurasia Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia 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 DP Eurasia needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.