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 – increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, 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 -
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.
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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– RANDON PART ON is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry in Brazil. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Brazil. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Railroads industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For RANDON PART ON digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. RANDON PART ON 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.
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.
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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that RANDON PART ON 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.
Innovation driven organization
– RANDON PART ON is one of the most innovative firm in Railroads sector.
Highly skilled collaborators
– RANDON PART ON has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Railroads industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of RANDON PART ON have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management in the Railroads industry
– RANDON PART ON 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
– 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.
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 -
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of RANDON PART ON, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Railroads 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.
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.
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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though RANDON PART ON has some of the most successful models in the Railroads industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. RANDON PART ON should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Railroads industry, RANDON PART ON 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of RANDON PART ON is just above the Railroads industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, RANDON PART ON has high operating costs in the Railroads industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract RANDON PART ON lucrative customers.
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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Brazil, RANDON PART ON needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of RANDON PART ON products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, RANDON PART ON needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– RANDON PART ON 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.
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 -
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.
Buying journey improvements
– RANDON PART ON can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Railroads 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.
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.
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.
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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, RANDON PART ON can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that RANDON PART ON operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Railroads sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– RANDON PART ON 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Railroads industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. RANDON PART ON can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. RANDON PART ON can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 -
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on RANDON PART ON 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 Railroads industry and other sectors.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, RANDON PART ON 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 RANDON PART ON prominent markets.
Regulatory challenges
– RANDON PART ON 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 Railroads industry regulations.
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.
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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
