Delta Oil & Gas Inc (DLTA) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Oil & Gas Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Delta Oil & Gas Inc (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Delta Oil & Gas Inc is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Delta Oil & Gas Inc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Delta Oil & Gas Inc can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Delta Oil & Gas Inc, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Delta Oil & Gas 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 Delta Oil & Gas Inc can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Delta Oil & Gas Inc
2. Improving business portfolio management of Delta Oil & Gas Inc
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Oil & Gas Operations sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Delta Oil & Gas Inc
Strengths of Delta Oil & Gas Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Delta Oil & Gas Inc are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Delta Oil & Gas Inc comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Oil & Gas Operations 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Delta Oil & Gas 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Delta Oil & Gas 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.
Strong track record of project management in the Oil & Gas Operations industry
– Delta Oil & Gas 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Delta Oil & Gas Inc in Oil & Gas Operations industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Oil & Gas Operations industry
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Delta Oil & Gas Inc to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Delta Oil & Gas Inc to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Oil & Gas Operations industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Delta Oil & Gas Inc digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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.
Ability to lead change in Oil & Gas Operations
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc is one of the leading players in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Delta Oil & Gas Inc in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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 Oil & Gas Operations 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.
High brand equity
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Delta Oil & Gas Inc to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Delta Oil & Gas Inc in the Energy sector have low bargaining power. Delta Oil & Gas Inc has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Delta Oil & Gas Inc to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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.
Weaknesses of Delta Oil & Gas Inc | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Delta Oil & Gas Inc are -
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 Delta Oil & Gas Inc supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Delta Oil & Gas Inc is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Delta Oil & Gas Inc vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Delta Oil & Gas Inc needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Oil & Gas Operations industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Delta Oil & Gas Inc can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Delta Oil & Gas Inc is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Delta Oil & Gas Inc is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Delta Oil & Gas Inc to provide better information regarding Oil & Gas Operations products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Oil & Gas Operations industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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 & Gas Operations industry.
Lack of clear differentiation of Delta Oil & Gas Inc products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Delta Oil & Gas 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, Delta Oil & Gas 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 Oil & Gas Operations industry using digital technology.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Delta Oil & Gas Inc has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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 Delta Oil & Gas Inc ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Delta Oil & Gas Inc still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Oil & Gas Operations industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Delta Oil & Gas Inc has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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 & Gas Operations industry over the last five years. Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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.
Employees’ less understanding of Delta Oil & Gas Inc strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Delta Oil & Gas 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.
Delta Oil & Gas Inc Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Delta Oil & Gas Inc are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Oil & Gas Operations industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Delta Oil & Gas Inc in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. Now Delta Oil & Gas Inc can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Delta Oil & Gas Inc is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Delta Oil & Gas Inc can utilize new technology in the field of Oil & Gas Operations industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Oil & Gas Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Delta Oil & Gas 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. Delta Oil & Gas 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Oil & Gas Operations 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Delta Oil & Gas 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 Oil & Gas Operations industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Delta Oil & Gas Inc has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Oil & Gas Operations industry. This can help Delta Oil & Gas Inc to build a more holistic ecosystem for Delta Oil & Gas Inc products in the Oil & Gas Operations industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc can develop new processes and procedures in Oil & Gas Operations 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Delta Oil & Gas 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Oil & Gas Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Delta Oil & Gas Inc can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Delta Oil & Gas Inc to increase its market reach. Delta Oil & Gas 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Oil & Gas Operations sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Delta Oil & Gas Inc to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Delta Oil & Gas Inc to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Delta Oil & Gas Inc can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Delta Oil & Gas Inc External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Delta Oil & Gas Inc are -
Environmental challenges
– Delta Oil & Gas 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. Delta Oil & Gas Inc can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Oil & Gas Operations industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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 Delta Oil & Gas Inc prominent markets.
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. Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Delta Oil & Gas Inc needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Oil & Gas Operations 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.
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 Delta Oil & Gas Inc.
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 Delta Oil & Gas Inc in the Oil & Gas Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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 & Gas Operations 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 Delta Oil & Gas Inc business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Delta Oil & Gas 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Oil & Gas Operations industry are lowering. It can presents Delta Oil & Gas Inc with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Oil & Gas Operations sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Delta Oil & Gas Inc 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 & Gas Operations industry regulations.
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. Delta Oil & Gas Inc needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Oil & Gas Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Delta Oil & Gas Inc Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Delta Oil & Gas 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 Delta Oil & Gas 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 Delta Oil & Gas 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 Delta Oil & Gas 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 Delta Oil & Gas Inc needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.