Grand Banks Yachts Ltd (GBYL) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Recreational Products
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Grand Banks Yachts Ltd (Singapore)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Grand Banks Yachts Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Recreational Products sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd
Strengths of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Recreational Products 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd in Recreational Products industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Recreational Products industry
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Grand Banks Yachts Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Recreational Products industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Grand Banks Yachts Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Grand Banks Yachts Ltd staying ahead in the Recreational Products industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Recreational Products industry. The technology infrastructure of Singapore 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Recreational Products industry. This has provided Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Organizational Resilience of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Grand Banks Yachts Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management in the Recreational Products industry
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Grand Banks Yachts Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Recreational Products
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is one of the leading players in the Recreational Products industry in Singapore. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Recreational Products industry in Singapore but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Grand Banks Yachts Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Grand Banks Yachts Ltd, in the dynamic environment of Recreational Products industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Grand Banks Yachts Ltd has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Lack of clear differentiation of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Recreational Products industry using digital technology.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Recreational Products industry, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Grand Banks Yachts Ltd vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Recreational Products industry, but Grand Banks Yachts Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Grand Banks Yachts Ltd to focus more on services in the Recreational Products industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is one of the leading players in the Recreational Products industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Recreational Products industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Grand Banks Yachts Ltd needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Recreational Products industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring in Recreational Products industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Grand Banks Yachts Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Recreational Products industry.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Grand Banks Yachts Ltd in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Recreational Products industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Recreational Products industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Grand Banks Yachts Ltd in the Recreational Products industry. Now Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Recreational Products industry. This can help Grand Banks Yachts Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Grand Banks Yachts Ltd products in the Recreational Products industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Recreational Products industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Recreational Products 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Recreational Products 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can utilize new technology in the field of Recreational Products industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Recreational Products 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Threats Grand Banks Yachts Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Grand Banks Yachts Ltd in Recreational Products industry. The Recreational Products 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.
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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd.
Regulatory challenges
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Recreational Products industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd prominent markets.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Grand Banks Yachts Ltd may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Recreational Products sector.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Grand Banks Yachts Ltd in the Recreational Products sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Recreational Products industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Recreational Products industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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. Grand Banks Yachts Ltd can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Recreational Products industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Recreational Products industry are lowering. It can presents Grand Banks Yachts Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Recreational Products sector.
Increasing wage structure of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd
– 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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Grand Banks Yachts Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd 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 Grand Banks Yachts Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
