RANDON PART ON (RAPT3) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Railroads
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for RANDON PART ON (Brazil)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , RANDON PART ON is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that RANDON PART ON can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the RANDON PART ON, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of RANDON PART ON
2. Improving business portfolio management of RANDON PART ON
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Brazil
4. Making a Railroads sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of RANDON PART ON
Strengths of RANDON PART ON | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of RANDON PART ON are -
Analytics focus
– RANDON PART ON 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 Railroads industry. The technology infrastructure of Brazil 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.
Innovation driven organization
– RANDON PART ON is one of the most innovative firm in Railroads sector.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of RANDON PART ON comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Railroads 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Railroads industry
– RANDON PART ON has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled RANDON PART ON to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Railroads industry. The sustainable margins have also helped RANDON PART ON to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the RANDON PART ON are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– RANDON PART ON has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – RANDON PART ON staying ahead in the Railroads industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– RANDON PART ON has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled RANDON PART ON to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at RANDON PART ON emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– RANDON PART ON has one of the best training and development program in Transportation 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– RANDON PART ON is present in almost all the verticals within the Railroads industry. This has provided RANDON PART ON 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.
Ability to lead change in Railroads
– RANDON PART ON is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry in Brazil. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Railroads industry in Brazil but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled RANDON PART ON in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of RANDON PART ON in the Transportation sector have low bargaining power. RANDON PART ON has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps RANDON PART ON to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of RANDON PART ON | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of RANDON PART ON are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
RANDON PART ON has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Railroads industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, RANDON PART ON has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Railroads industry over the last five years. RANDON PART ON 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of RANDON PART ON is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Railroads industry, but RANDON PART ON needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help RANDON PART ON to focus more on services in the Railroads industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ less understanding of RANDON PART ON strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of RANDON PART ON don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, RANDON PART ON is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left RANDON PART ON vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on RANDON PART ON ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of RANDON PART ON still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Railroads industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though RANDON PART ON has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As RANDON PART ON is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Railroads industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring in Railroads industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at RANDON PART ON 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, RANDON PART ON is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help RANDON PART ON to provide better information regarding Railroads products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Railroads industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Brazil, RANDON PART ON 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 Railroads industry.
RANDON PART ON Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of RANDON PART ON are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– RANDON PART ON has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Railroads sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled RANDON PART ON to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help RANDON PART ON to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– RANDON PART ON can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Railroads 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, RANDON PART ON is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. RANDON PART ON can utilize new technology in the field of Railroads industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help RANDON PART ON to increase its market reach. RANDON PART ON 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at RANDON PART ON 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 Railroads industry.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Railroads industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. RANDON PART ON can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, RANDON PART ON 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of RANDON PART ON has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Railroads industry. This can help RANDON PART ON to build a more holistic ecosystem for RANDON PART ON products in the Railroads industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– RANDON PART ON can develop new processes and procedures in Railroads 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for RANDON PART ON 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects RANDON PART ON can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for RANDON PART ON in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Railroads industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats RANDON PART ON External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of RANDON PART ON are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Railroads industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON
– 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 RANDON PART ON.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– RANDON PART ON has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Railroads industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, RANDON PART ON needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Railroads 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.
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 RANDON PART ON business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Railroads industry are lowering. It can presents RANDON PART ON with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Railroads sector.
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. RANDON PART ON 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, RANDON PART ON may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Railroads sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that RANDON PART ON is facing in Railroads sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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. RANDON PART ON needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Railroads industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– RANDON PART ON 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. RANDON PART ON can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Railroads industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– RANDON PART ON 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 Railroads industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for RANDON PART ON in Railroads industry. The Railroads 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of RANDON PART ON Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.