Standard Bank Group Ltd PK (SGBLY) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Standard Bank Group Ltd PK (United States)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Standard Bank Group Ltd PK is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Standard Bank Group Ltd PK can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Standard Bank Group Ltd PK, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK
2. Improving business portfolio management of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK
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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK
Strengths of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Standard Bank Group Ltd PK to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Standard Bank Group Ltd PK digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Ability to lead change in
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK in industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK is one of the most innovative firm in sector.
Weaknesses of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK are -
High dependence on Standard Bank Group Ltd PK ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the industry, but Standard Bank Group Ltd PK needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Standard Bank Group Ltd PK to focus more on services in the industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has high operating costs in the industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Standard Bank Group Ltd PK lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has some of the most successful models in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Standard Bank Group Ltd PK is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Standard Bank Group Ltd PK vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Standard Bank Group Ltd PK is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Standard Bank Group Ltd PK to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK, in the dynamic environment of industry it has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High bargaining power of channel partners in industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in United States, Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Standard Bank Group Ltd PK Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK are -
Buying journey improvements
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
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. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Standard Bank Group Ltd PK can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Standard Bank Group Ltd PK in the industry. Now Standard Bank Group Ltd PK can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Standard Bank Group Ltd PK to increase its market reach. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in industry. This can help Standard Bank Group Ltd PK to build a more holistic ecosystem for Standard Bank Group Ltd PK products in the industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Standard Bank Group Ltd PK to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Threats Standard Bank Group Ltd PK External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK are -
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. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to industry are lowering. It can presents Standard Bank Group Ltd PK with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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. Standard Bank Group Ltd PK can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Standard Bank Group Ltd PK in industry. The 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Standard Bank Group Ltd PK needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the 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.
Increasing wage structure of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK
– 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK prominent markets.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 industry.
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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Standard Bank Group Ltd PK is facing in sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Standard Bank Group Ltd PK Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK 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 Standard Bank Group Ltd PK needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
