Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Construction Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson
Strengths of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Ability to lead change in Construction Services
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is one of the leading players in the Construction Services industry in United Kingdom. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Construction Services industry in United Kingdom but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Aukett Fitzroy Robinson in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Construction Services industry
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Aukett Fitzroy Robinson to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Construction Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Aukett Fitzroy Robinson to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is one of the leading players in the Construction 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.
Digital Transformation in Construction Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Aukett Fitzroy Robinson digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Construction Services industry
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Aukett Fitzroy Robinson staying ahead in the Construction Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Aukett Fitzroy Robinson emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Construction Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson in Construction Services industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is one of the most innovative firm in Construction Services sector.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
Weaknesses of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on Aukett Fitzroy Robinson ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Construction Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Aukett Fitzroy Robinson to provide better information regarding Construction Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has high operating costs in the Construction Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Aukett Fitzroy Robinson lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Construction 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Construction Services industry over the last five years. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Aukett Fitzroy Robinson needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Construction Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring in Construction Services industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Aukett Fitzroy Robinson vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aukett Fitzroy Robinson Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson are -
Buying journey improvements
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Construction Services 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Aukett Fitzroy Robinson operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Construction Services sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Construction Services industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Construction Services industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Aukett Fitzroy Robinson in the Construction Services industry. Now Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can utilize new technology in the field of Construction Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Construction Services industry.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Construction Services industry. This can help Aukett Fitzroy Robinson to build a more holistic ecosystem for Aukett Fitzroy Robinson products in the Construction Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
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. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Construction Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Aukett Fitzroy Robinson to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Aukett Fitzroy Robinson to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Aukett Fitzroy Robinson External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson are -
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. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
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.
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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson in the Construction Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Construction Services industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Construction Services industry and other sectors.
Increasing wage structure of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson
– 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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Aukett Fitzroy Robinson in Construction Services industry. The Construction 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Construction Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Construction 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.
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. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Construction Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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.
Environmental challenges
– Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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. Aukett Fitzroy Robinson can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Construction Services industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Construction Services industry are lowering. It can presents Aukett Fitzroy Robinson with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Construction Services sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is facing in Construction Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aukett Fitzroy Robinson Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson 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 Aukett Fitzroy Robinson needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.