Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit (DLNG_pa) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit
2. Improving business portfolio management of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit
Strengths of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit in the sector have low bargaining power. Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in industry
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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.
Analytics focus
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 industry. The technology infrastructure of United States 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.
Ability to lead change in
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Organizational Resilience of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is one of the leading players in the industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is just above the 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is one of the leading players in the industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners in industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the industry, Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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.
Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit to increase its market reach. Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 industry.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can utilize new technology in the field of industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can improve the customer journey of consumers in the 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.
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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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. Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit
– 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit.
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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit.
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.
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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit in the sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit 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 Dynagas LNG Partners LP Unit needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.