Voyageurs du Monde SA (ALVDM) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Personal Services
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Voyageurs du Monde SA (France)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Voyageurs du Monde SA is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Voyageurs du Monde SA
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Voyageurs du Monde SA can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Voyageurs du Monde SA, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Voyageurs du Monde SA
2. Improving business portfolio management of Voyageurs du Monde SA
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in France
4. Making a Personal Services sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Voyageurs du Monde SA
Strengths of Voyageurs du Monde SA | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Voyageurs du Monde SA are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Voyageurs du Monde SA comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Personal Services 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Voyageurs du Monde SA is one of the most innovative firm in Personal Services sector.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Voyageurs du Monde SA in the Services sector have low bargaining power. Voyageurs du Monde SA has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Voyageurs du Monde SA to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Personal Services
– Voyageurs du Monde SA is one of the leading players in the Personal Services industry in France. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Personal Services industry in France but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Voyageurs du Monde SA in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Personal Services industry. The technology infrastructure of France 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
– Voyageurs du Monde SA has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Voyageurs du Monde SA to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Voyageurs du Monde SA emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Personal Services industry
– Voyageurs du Monde SA has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Voyageurs du Monde SA to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Personal Services industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Voyageurs du Monde SA to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Personal Services industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Voyageurs du Monde SA digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Voyageurs du Monde SA has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Personal Services industry
– Voyageurs du Monde SA is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses of Voyageurs du Monde SA | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Voyageurs du Monde SA are -
High bargaining power of channel partners in Personal Services industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in France, Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Personal Services industry.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Voyageurs du Monde SA has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Personal Services industry over the last five years. Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Voyageurs du Monde SA has high operating costs in the Personal Services industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Voyageurs du Monde SA lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Voyageurs du Monde SA needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Personal Services industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Voyageurs du Monde SA can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Voyageurs du Monde SA is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on Voyageurs du Monde SA ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of Voyageurs du Monde SA still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Personal Services industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Voyageurs du Monde SA has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Voyageurs du Monde SA products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Voyageurs du Monde SA needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Voyageurs du Monde SA is one of the leading players in the Personal Services industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Personal Services industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Voyageurs du Monde SA is just above the Personal Services 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, Voyageurs du Monde SA is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Voyageurs du Monde SA to provide better information regarding Personal Services products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Voyageurs du Monde SA Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Voyageurs du Monde SA are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Voyageurs du Monde SA can develop new processes and procedures in Personal Services 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Personal Services industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Voyageurs du Monde SA can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Voyageurs du Monde SA to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Voyageurs du Monde SA to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Voyageurs du Monde SA can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Voyageurs du Monde SA operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Personal Services sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Voyageurs du Monde SA to increase its market reach. Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Voyageurs du Monde SA can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Voyageurs du Monde SA can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Personal Services 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Voyageurs du Monde SA is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Voyageurs du Monde SA can utilize new technology in the field of Personal Services industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Voyageurs du Monde SA can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
Threats Voyageurs du Monde SA External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Voyageurs du Monde SA are -
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 Voyageurs du Monde SA business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Voyageurs du Monde SA may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Personal Services sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Voyageurs du Monde SA has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Personal Services industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Voyageurs du Monde SA needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Personal Services 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA prominent markets.
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 Voyageurs du Monde SA.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Voyageurs du Monde SA in Personal Services industry. The Personal Services 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Personal Services industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Voyageurs du Monde SA
– 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Voyageurs du Monde SA is facing in Personal Services sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Personal Services industry.
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. Voyageurs du Monde SA needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Personal Services industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Voyageurs du Monde SA Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Voyageurs du Monde SA needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.