Fortress Transport Infrast (FTAI) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Rental & Leasing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Fortress Transport Infrast (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Fortress Transport Infrast is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Fortress Transport Infrast
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Fortress Transport Infrast can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fortress Transport Infrast, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Fortress Transport Infrast can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Fortress Transport Infrast
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fortress Transport Infrast
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Rental & Leasing sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Fortress Transport Infrast
Strengths of Fortress Transport Infrast | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fortress Transport Infrast are -
Organizational Resilience of Fortress Transport Infrast
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Fortress Transport Infrast does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Rental & Leasing industry
– Fortress Transport Infrast has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Fortress Transport Infrast to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Rental & Leasing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Fortress Transport Infrast to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Fortress Transport Infrast is one of the leading players in the Rental & Leasing 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Fortress Transport Infrast in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Fortress Transport Infrast has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Fortress Transport Infrast to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Rental & Leasing industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Fortress Transport Infrast digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Fortress Transport Infrast has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Fortress Transport Infrast staying ahead in the Rental & Leasing industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fortress Transport Infrast has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fortress Transport Infrast 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
– Fortress Transport Infrast is one of the most innovative firm in Rental & Leasing sector.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Fortress Transport Infrast in Rental & Leasing industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Fortress Transport Infrast has one of the best training and development program in Services 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.
Ability to lead change in Rental & Leasing
– Fortress Transport Infrast is one of the leading players in the Rental & Leasing industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Rental & Leasing industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Fortress Transport Infrast comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Rental & Leasing 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.
Weaknesses of Fortress Transport Infrast | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Fortress Transport Infrast are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Fortress Transport Infrast is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Rental & Leasing industry, but Fortress Transport Infrast needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Fortress Transport Infrast to focus more on services in the Rental & Leasing industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Fortress Transport Infrast products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Fortress Transport Infrast needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fortress Transport Infrast has some of the most successful models in the Rental & Leasing industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Fortress Transport Infrast should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Fortress Transport Infrast is just above the Rental & Leasing 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Fortress Transport Infrast is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Fortress Transport Infrast to provide better information regarding Rental & Leasing products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fortress Transport Infrast has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Rental & Leasing industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Fortress Transport Infrast, in the dynamic environment of Rental & Leasing industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Fortress Transport Infrast has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on Fortress Transport Infrast ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Fortress Transport Infrast still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Rental & Leasing industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Fortress Transport Infrast has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Fortress Transport Infrast is one of the leading players in the Rental & Leasing industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Rental & Leasing industry in last five years.
Fortress Transport Infrast Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Fortress Transport Infrast are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fortress Transport Infrast can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fortress Transport Infrast operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Rental & Leasing sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fortress Transport Infrast has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Rental & Leasing industry. This can help Fortress Transport Infrast to build a more holistic ecosystem for Fortress Transport Infrast products in the Rental & Leasing industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Fortress Transport Infrast has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Rental & Leasing sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Fortress Transport Infrast to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Fortress Transport Infrast to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Fortress Transport Infrast to increase its market reach. Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Fortress Transport Infrast can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Rental & Leasing 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Rental & Leasing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Fortress Transport Infrast 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. Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Rental & Leasing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Fortress Transport Infrast can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Rental & Leasing industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Fortress Transport Infrast in the Rental & Leasing industry. Now Fortress Transport Infrast can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Rental & Leasing industry.
Threats Fortress Transport Infrast External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Fortress Transport Infrast are -
Increasing wage structure of Fortress Transport Infrast
– 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 Fortress Transport Infrast.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Fortress Transport Infrast is facing in Rental & Leasing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Rental & Leasing industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Fortress Transport Infrast may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Rental & Leasing sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Rental & Leasing industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Fortress Transport Infrast can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Fortress Transport Infrast 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.
Environmental challenges
– Fortress Transport Infrast 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. Fortress Transport Infrast can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Rental & Leasing industry.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Rental & Leasing industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Fortress Transport Infrast prominent markets.
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 Fortress Transport Infrast business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fortress Transport Infrast has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Rental & Leasing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fortress Transport Infrast needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Rental & Leasing 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Fortress Transport Infrast Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Fortress Transport Infrast 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 Fortress Transport Infrast needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
