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 – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, wage bills are increasing,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing commodity prices, 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.
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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Voyageurs du Monde SA has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Personal Services industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Voyageurs du Monde SA have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Voyageurs du Monde SA has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Voyageurs du Monde SA staying ahead in the Personal Services industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Voyageurs du Monde SA is one of the leading players in the Personal Services industry in France. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in France. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
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.
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.
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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Voyageurs du Monde SA is present in almost all the verticals within the Personal Services industry. This has provided Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
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.
Innovation driven organization
– Voyageurs du Monde SA is one of the most innovative firm in Personal Services sector.
Organizational Resilience of Voyageurs du Monde SA
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Voyageurs du Monde SA does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Voyageurs du Monde SA has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the Personal Services industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
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.
Employees’ less understanding of Voyageurs du Monde SA strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Voyageurs du Monde SA has some of the most successful models in the Personal Services industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Voyageurs du Monde SA should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Voyageurs du Monde SA is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Personal Services industry, but Voyageurs du Monde SA needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Voyageurs du Monde SA to focus more on services in the Personal Services industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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.
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.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Personal Services industry, Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
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 -
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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Voyageurs du Monde SA has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Personal Services sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Voyageurs du Monde SA to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Voyageurs du Monde SA to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
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.
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.
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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Voyageurs du Monde SA has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Personal Services industry. This can help Voyageurs du Monde SA to build a more holistic ecosystem for Voyageurs du Monde SA products in the Personal Services industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Personal Services industry.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
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.
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 Voyageurs du Monde SA in the Personal Services sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Personal Services industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Voyageurs du Monde SA can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Personal Services industry are lowering. It can presents Voyageurs du Monde SA with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Personal Services sector.
Environmental challenges
– Voyageurs du Monde SA 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. Voyageurs du Monde SA can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Voyageurs du Monde SA 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 Personal Services industry and other sectors.
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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Voyageurs du Monde SA 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.
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.
