SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Bertam Alliance (Malaysia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Bertam Alliance is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Bertam Alliance can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bertam Alliance, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Bertam Alliance
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bertam Alliance
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Malaysia
4. Making a Construction Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Bertam Alliance
Strengths of Bertam Alliance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bertam Alliance are -
Ability to lead change in Construction Services
– Bertam Alliance is one of the leading players in the Construction Services industry in Malaysia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Construction Services industry in Malaysia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Bertam Alliance in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Digital Transformation in Construction Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bertam Alliance digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bertam Alliance 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.
Analytics focus
– Bertam Alliance 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 Construction Services 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Construction Services industry
– Bertam Alliance has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bertam Alliance to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Construction Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bertam Alliance to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Bertam Alliance comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Construction Services industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Strong track record of project management in the Construction Services industry
– Bertam Alliance is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Bertam Alliance
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Bertam Alliance does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bertam Alliance is present in almost all the verticals within the Construction Services industry. This has provided Bertam Alliance 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bertam Alliance has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Bertam Alliance 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bertam Alliance is one of the leading players in the Construction Services 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Bertam Alliance is one of the most innovative firm in Construction Services sector.
Weaknesses of Bertam Alliance | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bertam Alliance are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Construction Services industry, Bertam Alliance 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bertam Alliance is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Malaysia, Bertam Alliance needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bertam Alliance has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High 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 Bertam Alliance supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Bertam Alliance is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bertam Alliance vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Bertam Alliance, in the dynamic environment of Construction Services industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bertam Alliance has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bertam Alliance 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. Bertam Alliance 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Bertam Alliance 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bertam Alliance is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Construction Services industry, but Bertam Alliance needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bertam Alliance to focus more on services in the Construction Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Construction Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Malaysia, Bertam Alliance 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 Construction Services industry.
Bertam Alliance Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Bertam Alliance are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bertam Alliance can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bertam Alliance operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Construction Services sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bertam Alliance to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Bertam Alliance can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Bertam Alliance has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bertam Alliance in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Construction Services industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bertam Alliance has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Construction Services industry. This can help Bertam Alliance to build a more holistic ecosystem for Bertam Alliance products in the Construction Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Bertam Alliance in the Construction Services industry. Now Bertam Alliance can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bertam Alliance 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bertam Alliance 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bertam Alliance can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bertam Alliance can develop new processes and procedures in Construction Services industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bertam Alliance 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bertam Alliance to increase its market reach. Bertam Alliance 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.
Threats Bertam Alliance External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Bertam Alliance are -
Environmental challenges
– Bertam Alliance 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. Bertam Alliance can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Construction Services industry.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Bertam Alliance in the Construction Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bertam Alliance has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Construction Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bertam Alliance 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.
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. Bertam Alliance 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Construction Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance
– 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 Bertam Alliance.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Bertam Alliance business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bertam Alliance 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 Construction Services industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bertam Alliance is facing in Construction Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Bertam Alliance may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Construction Services sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bertam Alliance 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.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bertam Alliance 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bertam Alliance Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance 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 Bertam Alliance needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.