MRCB-Quill Unit (MQRE) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Real Estate Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for MRCB-Quill Unit (Malaysia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , MRCB-Quill Unit is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that MRCB-Quill Unit can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the MRCB-Quill Unit, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which MRCB-Quill Unit 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 MRCB-Quill Unit can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of MRCB-Quill Unit
2. Improving business portfolio management of MRCB-Quill Unit
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Malaysia
4. Making a Real Estate Operations sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of MRCB-Quill Unit
Strengths of MRCB-Quill Unit | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of MRCB-Quill Unit are -
Innovation driven organization
– MRCB-Quill Unit is one of the most innovative firm in Real Estate Operations sector.
Diverse revenue streams
– MRCB-Quill Unit is present in almost all the verticals within the Real Estate Operations industry. This has provided MRCB-Quill Unit a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
High brand equity
– MRCB-Quill Unit has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled MRCB-Quill Unit to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– MRCB-Quill Unit 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 Real Estate Operations industry. The technology infrastructure of Malaysia 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.
Training and development
– MRCB-Quill Unit 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Real Estate Operations industry
– MRCB-Quill Unit is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of MRCB-Quill Unit in the Services sector have low bargaining power. MRCB-Quill Unit has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps MRCB-Quill Unit to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– MRCB-Quill Unit is one of the leading players in the Real Estate Operations industry in Malaysia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Malaysia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of MRCB-Quill Unit
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing MRCB-Quill Unit does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of MRCB-Quill Unit comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Real Estate Operations 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.
Ability to lead change in Real Estate Operations
– MRCB-Quill Unit is one of the leading players in the Real Estate Operations industry in Malaysia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Real Estate Operations industry in Malaysia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled MRCB-Quill Unit in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– MRCB-Quill Unit has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. MRCB-Quill Unit 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.
Weaknesses of MRCB-Quill Unit | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MRCB-Quill Unit are -
High dependence on MRCB-Quill Unit ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of MRCB-Quill Unit still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Real Estate Operations industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though MRCB-Quill Unit has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Real Estate Operations industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Malaysia, MRCB-Quill Unit 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 Real Estate Operations industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that MRCB-Quill Unit needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Real Estate Operations industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at MRCB-Quill Unit can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as MRCB-Quill Unit is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– MRCB-Quill Unit 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at MRCB-Quill Unit, in the dynamic environment of Real Estate Operations industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. MRCB-Quill Unit has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
MRCB-Quill Unit has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Real Estate Operations 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, MRCB-Quill Unit has high operating costs in the Real Estate Operations industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract MRCB-Quill Unit lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of MRCB-Quill Unit is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Real Estate Operations industry, but MRCB-Quill Unit needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help MRCB-Quill Unit to focus more on services in the Real Estate Operations industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 MRCB-Quill Unit supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, MRCB-Quill Unit is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left MRCB-Quill Unit vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of MRCB-Quill Unit products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, MRCB-Quill Unit needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Real Estate Operations industry, MRCB-Quill Unit 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.
MRCB-Quill Unit Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of MRCB-Quill Unit are -
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. MRCB-Quill Unit can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help MRCB-Quill Unit to increase its market reach. MRCB-Quill Unit 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.
Buying journey improvements
– MRCB-Quill Unit can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Real Estate Operations 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– MRCB-Quill Unit has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Real Estate Operations sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled MRCB-Quill Unit to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help MRCB-Quill Unit 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 Real Estate Operations industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for MRCB-Quill Unit in the Real Estate Operations industry. Now MRCB-Quill Unit can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– MRCB-Quill Unit 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Real Estate Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. MRCB-Quill Unit 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. MRCB-Quill Unit 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 MRCB-Quill Unit can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for MRCB-Quill Unit 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 MRCB-Quill Unit 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 Real Estate Operations industry.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, MRCB-Quill Unit is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. MRCB-Quill Unit can utilize new technology in the field of Real Estate Operations industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– MRCB-Quill Unit can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Real Estate Operations 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for MRCB-Quill Unit in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Real Estate Operations industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats MRCB-Quill Unit External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of MRCB-Quill Unit 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. MRCB-Quill Unit needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Real Estate Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– MRCB-Quill Unit 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. MRCB-Quill Unit can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Real Estate Operations industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on MRCB-Quill Unit 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 Real Estate Operations industry and other sectors.
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 MRCB-Quill Unit.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Real Estate Operations industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. MRCB-Quill Unit can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of MRCB-Quill Unit
– 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 MRCB-Quill Unit.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that MRCB-Quill Unit is facing in Real Estate Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. MRCB-Quill Unit 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– MRCB-Quill Unit has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Real Estate Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, MRCB-Quill Unit needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Real Estate Operations 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Real Estate Operations industry are lowering. It can presents MRCB-Quill Unit with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Real Estate Operations sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for MRCB-Quill Unit in Real Estate Operations industry. The Real Estate Operations 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– MRCB-Quill Unit 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 Real Estate Operations industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MRCB-Quill Unit Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at MRCB-Quill Unit 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 MRCB-Quill Unit 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 MRCB-Quill Unit 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 MRCB-Quill Unit 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 MRCB-Quill Unit needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
