SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Forestiere Equatoriale (France)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Forestiere Equatoriale is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Forestiere Equatoriale
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Forestiere Equatoriale can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Forestiere Equatoriale, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Forestiere Equatoriale can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Forestiere Equatoriale
2. Improving business portfolio management of Forestiere Equatoriale
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in France
4. Making a Railroads sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Forestiere Equatoriale
Strengths of Forestiere Equatoriale | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Forestiere Equatoriale are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Forestiere Equatoriale has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Forestiere Equatoriale staying ahead in the Railroads 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 Forestiere Equatoriale in Railroads industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Railroads industry
– Forestiere Equatoriale has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Forestiere Equatoriale to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Railroads industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Forestiere Equatoriale to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Forestiere Equatoriale has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Railroads industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Forestiere Equatoriale have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Forestiere Equatoriale in the Transportation sector have low bargaining power. Forestiere Equatoriale has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Forestiere Equatoriale to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Forestiere Equatoriale is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Forestiere Equatoriale emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Forestiere Equatoriale is present in almost all the verticals within the Railroads industry. This has provided Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
Organizational Resilience of Forestiere Equatoriale
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Forestiere Equatoriale does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Forestiere Equatoriale has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Forestiere Equatoriale to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Railroads
– Forestiere Equatoriale is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry in France. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Railroads industry in France but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Forestiere Equatoriale 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
– Forestiere Equatoriale is one of the leading players in the Railroads 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.
Weaknesses of Forestiere Equatoriale | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Forestiere Equatoriale are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Forestiere Equatoriale is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Railroads industry, but Forestiere Equatoriale needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Forestiere Equatoriale to focus more on services in the Railroads industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Forestiere Equatoriale is just above the Railroads 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 strategic competitive environment developments
– As Forestiere Equatoriale is one of the leading players in the Railroads industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Railroads industry in last five years.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Forestiere Equatoriale has high operating costs in the Railroads industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Forestiere Equatoriale lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Forestiere Equatoriale 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 bargaining power of channel partners in Railroads industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in France, Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Railroads industry.
Employees’ less understanding of Forestiere Equatoriale strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Forestiere Equatoriale 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 decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Forestiere Equatoriale has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the Railroads industry over the last five years. Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
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 Forestiere Equatoriale supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Forestiere Equatoriale is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Forestiere Equatoriale vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that Forestiere Equatoriale needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Railroads industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Forestiere Equatoriale can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Forestiere Equatoriale is planning to shift buying processes online.
Forestiere Equatoriale Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Forestiere Equatoriale are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Forestiere Equatoriale can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Forestiere Equatoriale operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Railroads sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Forestiere Equatoriale has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Railroads sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Forestiere Equatoriale to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Forestiere Equatoriale to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Forestiere Equatoriale is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Forestiere Equatoriale can utilize new technology in the field of Railroads industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Forestiere Equatoriale in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Railroads industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
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 Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Forestiere Equatoriale to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Railroads industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Forestiere Equatoriale can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Forestiere Equatoriale to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Forestiere Equatoriale can develop new processes and procedures in Railroads 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.
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. Forestiere Equatoriale can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Forestiere Equatoriale to increase its market reach. Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
Threats Forestiere Equatoriale External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Forestiere Equatoriale are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Forestiere Equatoriale is facing in Railroads sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, 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 Forestiere Equatoriale in the Railroads sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Railroads industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Forestiere Equatoriale can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Forestiere Equatoriale 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.
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 Forestiere Equatoriale in Railroads industry. The Railroads 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.
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 Forestiere Equatoriale business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Forestiere Equatoriale 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. Forestiere Equatoriale can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Railroads industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Railroads industry and other sectors.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Railroads industry are lowering. It can presents Forestiere Equatoriale with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Railroads sector.
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 Forestiere Equatoriale.
Increasing wage structure of Forestiere Equatoriale
– 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 Forestiere Equatoriale.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Forestiere Equatoriale Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Forestiere Equatoriale 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 Forestiere Equatoriale needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.