HSS Hire Group Plc (HSS) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Rental & Leasing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for HSS Hire Group Plc (United Kingdom)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , HSS Hire Group Plc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of HSS Hire Group Plc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that HSS Hire Group Plc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the HSS Hire Group Plc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which HSS Hire Group Plc 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 HSS Hire Group Plc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of HSS Hire Group Plc
2. Improving business portfolio management of HSS Hire Group Plc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Rental & Leasing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of HSS Hire Group Plc
Strengths of HSS Hire Group Plc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of HSS Hire Group Plc are -
Ability to lead change in Rental & Leasing
– HSS Hire Group Plc is one of the leading players in the Rental & Leasing industry in United Kingdom. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Rental & Leasing industry in United Kingdom but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled HSS Hire Group Plc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of HSS Hire Group Plc in the Services sector have low bargaining power. HSS Hire Group Plc has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps HSS Hire Group Plc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that HSS Hire Group Plc 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– HSS Hire Group Plc has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – HSS Hire Group Plc staying ahead in the Rental & Leasing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Rental & Leasing industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For HSS Hire Group Plc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. HSS Hire Group Plc 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.
Training and development
– HSS Hire Group Plc has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– HSS Hire Group Plc has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. HSS Hire Group Plc 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– HSS Hire Group Plc has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Rental & Leasing industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of HSS Hire Group Plc have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the HSS Hire Group Plc 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of HSS Hire Group Plc comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Rental & Leasing 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.
High brand equity
– HSS Hire Group Plc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled HSS Hire Group Plc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of HSS Hire Group Plc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing HSS Hire Group Plc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses of HSS Hire Group Plc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of HSS Hire Group Plc are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of HSS Hire Group Plc is just above the Rental & Leasing 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.
Employees’ less understanding of HSS Hire Group Plc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of HSS Hire Group Plc 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 HSS Hire Group Plc ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of HSS Hire Group Plc still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Rental & Leasing industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though HSS Hire Group Plc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, HSS Hire Group Plc has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the Rental & Leasing industry using digital technology.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
HSS Hire Group Plc has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Rental & Leasing industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Rental & Leasing industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United Kingdom, HSS Hire Group Plc 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 Rental & Leasing industry.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, HSS Hire Group Plc has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Rental & Leasing industry over the last five years. HSS Hire Group Plc even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of HSS Hire Group Plc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, HSS Hire Group Plc is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left HSS Hire Group Plc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though HSS Hire Group Plc has some of the most successful models in the Rental & Leasing industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. HSS Hire Group Plc should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, HSS Hire Group Plc has high operating costs in the Rental & Leasing industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract HSS Hire Group Plc lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As HSS Hire Group Plc is one of the leading players in the Rental & Leasing industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Rental & Leasing industry in last five years.
HSS Hire Group Plc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of HSS Hire Group Plc are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help HSS Hire Group Plc to increase its market reach. HSS Hire Group Plc 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for HSS Hire Group Plc 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 HSS Hire Group Plc to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, HSS Hire Group Plc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. HSS Hire Group Plc can utilize new technology in the field of Rental & Leasing industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, HSS Hire Group Plc 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, HSS Hire Group Plc can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that HSS Hire Group Plc operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Rental & Leasing sector.
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 HSS Hire Group Plc 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at HSS Hire Group Plc 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 Rental & Leasing industry.
Buying journey improvements
– HSS Hire Group Plc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Rental & Leasing 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects HSS Hire Group Plc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– HSS Hire Group Plc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Rental & Leasing sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled HSS Hire Group Plc to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help HSS Hire Group Plc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Rental & Leasing industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for HSS Hire Group Plc in the Rental & Leasing industry. Now HSS Hire Group Plc 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 Rental & Leasing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. HSS Hire Group Plc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– HSS Hire Group Plc can develop new processes and procedures in Rental & Leasing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Threats HSS Hire Group Plc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of HSS Hire Group Plc are -
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 HSS Hire Group Plc.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– HSS Hire Group Plc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Rental & Leasing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, HSS Hire Group Plc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Rental & Leasing 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that HSS Hire Group Plc is facing in Rental & Leasing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. HSS Hire Group Plc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Rental & Leasing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– HSS Hire Group Plc 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 Rental & Leasing industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Rental & Leasing industry are lowering. It can presents HSS Hire Group Plc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Rental & Leasing sector.
Environmental challenges
– HSS Hire Group Plc 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. HSS Hire Group Plc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Rental & Leasing industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, HSS Hire Group Plc 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 HSS Hire Group Plc prominent markets.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Rental & Leasing industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. HSS Hire Group Plc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, HSS Hire Group Plc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Rental & Leasing sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– HSS Hire Group Plc 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of HSS Hire Group Plc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at HSS Hire Group Plc 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 HSS Hire Group Plc 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 HSS Hire Group Plc 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 HSS Hire Group Plc 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 HSS Hire Group Plc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
