Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , BRP Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that BRP Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the BRP Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which BRP Inc 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 BRP Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of BRP Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of BRP Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Conglomerates sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of BRP Inc
Strengths of BRP Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of BRP Inc are -
Training and development
– BRP Inc has one of the best training and development program in Conglomerates 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Conglomerates industry
– BRP Inc is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Conglomerates industry
– BRP Inc has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled BRP Inc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Conglomerates industry. The sustainable margins have also helped BRP Inc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– BRP Inc is present in almost all the verticals within the Conglomerates industry. This has provided BRP Inc 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.
Learning organization
- BRP Inc 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 BRP Inc is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at BRP Inc emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– BRP Inc has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. BRP Inc 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.
Innovation driven organization
– BRP Inc is one of the most innovative firm in Conglomerates sector.
Organizational Resilience of BRP Inc
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing BRP Inc does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that BRP Inc 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.
High brand equity
– BRP Inc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled BRP Inc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– BRP Inc has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – BRP Inc staying ahead in the Conglomerates industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of BRP Inc in the Conglomerates sector have low bargaining power. BRP Inc has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps BRP Inc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses of BRP Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BRP Inc are -
Lack of clear differentiation of BRP Inc products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, BRP Inc needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, BRP Inc 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 Conglomerates industry using digital technology.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of BRP Inc, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Conglomerates 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.
High dependence on BRP Inc ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of BRP Inc still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Conglomerates industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though BRP Inc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, BRP Inc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help BRP Inc to provide better information regarding Conglomerates products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Conglomerates industry, BRP Inc 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Canada, BRP Inc needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though BRP Inc has some of the most successful models in the Conglomerates industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. BRP Inc should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ less understanding of BRP Inc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of BRP Inc 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.
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 BRP Inc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, BRP Inc is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left BRP Inc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in Conglomerates industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at BRP Inc 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.
BRP Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of BRP Inc are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects BRP Inc can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help BRP Inc to increase its market reach. BRP Inc 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of BRP Inc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Conglomerates industry. This can help BRP Inc to build a more holistic ecosystem for BRP Inc products in the Conglomerates industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– BRP Inc 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Conglomerates industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. BRP Inc 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. BRP Inc 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.
Loyalty marketing
– BRP Inc has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for BRP Inc in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Conglomerates industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Conglomerates industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for BRP Inc in the Conglomerates industry. Now BRP Inc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for BRP Inc 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at BRP Inc 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 Conglomerates industry.
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. BRP Inc can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– BRP Inc can develop new processes and procedures in Conglomerates 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.
Manufacturing automation
– BRP Inc can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Conglomerates 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.
Threats BRP Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of BRP Inc are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– BRP Inc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Conglomerates industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, BRP Inc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Conglomerates 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– BRP Inc 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– BRP Inc 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. BRP Inc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Conglomerates industry.
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 BRP Inc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 BRP Inc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Conglomerates industry are lowering. It can presents BRP Inc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Conglomerates sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on BRP Inc 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 Conglomerates industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Conglomerates industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. BRP Inc can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, BRP Inc may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Conglomerates 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 BRP Inc in the Conglomerates sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of BRP Inc
– 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 BRP Inc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BRP Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at BRP Inc 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 BRP Inc 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 BRP Inc 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 BRP Inc 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 BRP Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.