Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd (VIKO) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Oil Well Services & Equipment
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd (Singapore)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Viking Offshore and Marine 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 Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd
2. Improving business portfolio management of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Singapore
4. Making a Oil Well Services & Equipment sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd
Strengths of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd is present in almost all the verticals within the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This has provided Viking Offshore and Marine 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.
Digital Transformation in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd 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.
Organizational Resilience of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Oil Well Services & Equipment 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd is one of the leading players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry in Singapore. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry in Singapore but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd is one of the most innovative firm in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector.
Learning organization
- Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd 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 Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has one of the best training and development program in Energy 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd in the Energy sector have low bargaining power. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd is one of the leading players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry in Singapore. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Singapore. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Singapore, Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has some of the most successful models in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Viking Offshore and Marine 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.
Skills based hiring in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Viking Offshore and Marine 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, but Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to focus more on services in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Viking Offshore and Marine 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry over the last five years. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. Now Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to increase its market reach. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This can help Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to build a more holistic ecosystem for Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd products in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can develop new processes and procedures in Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
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. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd 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 Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Manufacturing automation
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Oil Well Services & Equipment 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.
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 Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd 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.
Threats Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Oil Well Services & Equipment 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. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Viking Offshore and Marine 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry regulations.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Viking Offshore and Marine 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd in Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. The Oil Well Services & Equipment 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 Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment industry and other sectors.
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 Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Oil Well Services & Equipment industry are lowering. It can presents Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Oil Well Services & Equipment sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Viking Offshore and Marine 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 Oil Well Services & Equipment sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd is facing in Oil Well Services & Equipment sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Viking Offshore and Marine 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 Viking Offshore and Marine 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 Viking Offshore and Marine 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 Viking Offshore and Marine 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 Viking Offshore and Marine Ltd needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.