Trans Atlantic Petroleum (TNP) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Oil & Gas Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Trans Atlantic Petroleum (Canada)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Trans Atlantic Petroleum is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Trans Atlantic Petroleum
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Trans Atlantic Petroleum can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Trans Atlantic Petroleum, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Trans Atlantic Petroleum
2. Improving business portfolio management of Trans Atlantic Petroleum
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Canada
4. Making a Oil & Gas Operations sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Trans Atlantic Petroleum
Strengths of Trans Atlantic Petroleum | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Trans Atlantic Petroleum are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Oil & Gas Operations industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Trans Atlantic Petroleum have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Trans Atlantic Petroleum emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum is present in almost all the verticals within the Oil & Gas Operations industry. This has provided Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum is one of the most innovative firm in Oil & Gas Operations sector.
Ability to lead change in Oil & Gas Operations
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum is one of the leading players in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in Canada. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in Canada but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Trans Atlantic Petroleum in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Trans Atlantic Petroleum staying ahead in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Trans Atlantic Petroleum in Oil & Gas Operations industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management in the Oil & Gas Operations industry
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Trans Atlantic Petroleum in the Energy sector have low bargaining power. Trans Atlantic Petroleum has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Trans Atlantic Petroleum to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Trans Atlantic Petroleum
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Trans Atlantic Petroleum does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Oil & Gas Operations industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Trans Atlantic Petroleum digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Weaknesses of Trans Atlantic Petroleum | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Trans Atlantic Petroleum are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Oil & Gas Operations industry, Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
High dependence on Trans Atlantic Petroleum ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ less understanding of Trans Atlantic Petroleum strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Trans Atlantic Petroleum is one of the leading players in the Oil & Gas Operations industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Oil & Gas Operations industry in last five years.
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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Trans Atlantic Petroleum is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Trans Atlantic Petroleum vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring in Oil & Gas Operations industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative at Trans Atlantic Petroleum, in the dynamic environment of Oil & Gas Operations industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Trans Atlantic Petroleum has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Trans Atlantic Petroleum has high operating costs in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Trans Atlantic Petroleum lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Trans Atlantic Petroleum is just above the Oil & Gas Operations 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.
Trans Atlantic Petroleum Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Trans Atlantic Petroleum are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. Now Trans Atlantic Petroleum can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Trans Atlantic Petroleum can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Trans Atlantic Petroleum has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Oil & Gas Operations industry. This can help Trans Atlantic Petroleum to build a more holistic ecosystem for Trans Atlantic Petroleum products in the Oil & Gas Operations industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Trans Atlantic Petroleum to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Trans Atlantic Petroleum to increase its market reach. Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Threats Trans Atlantic Petroleum External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Trans Atlantic Petroleum are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Oil & Gas Operations industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Oil & Gas Operations industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Trans Atlantic Petroleum can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Trans Atlantic Petroleum is facing in Oil & Gas Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Trans Atlantic Petroleum
– 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum.
Environmental challenges
– Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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. Trans Atlantic Petroleum can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum in the Oil & Gas Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Trans Atlantic Petroleum may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Oil & Gas Operations sector.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Trans Atlantic Petroleum in Oil & Gas Operations industry. The Oil & Gas Operations 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Trans Atlantic Petroleum Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum 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 Trans Atlantic Petroleum needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
