Helps firms answer the following question after SWOT Analysis: Make the most of your strengths? Circumvent your weaknesses? Capitalize on your opportunities? Manage your threats? This is associated with the externally-focused TOWS Matrix, helps firms think about the options that they could pursue Matching external opportunities and threats with internal strengths and weaknesses TOWS Matrix TOWS Matrix Strengths and Opportunities (SO) How can you use your strengths to take advantage of the opportunities? Strengths and Threats (ST) How can you take advantage of your strengths to avoid real and potential threats? Weaknesses and Opportunities (WO) How can you use your opportunities to overcome the weaknesses you are experiencing? Weaknesses and Threats (WT) How can you minimize your weaknesses and avoid threats? Modernization of India Post (2008-2015) Project Arrow: Launched in 2008, the objective of Project Arrow was to give a new image and look to India Post - cost INR 9,000 million Included civil-works renovations and construction of boundary walls that changed the internal and external appearance of post-office buildings Design of new logo in red and yellow to give it corporate appeal and reflected changes in the postal-service officials attitude toward the content and quality of services Mail Network Optimization Project: Project was launched in 2010 to streamline India Posts core and mail operations Set up automated mail-processing and sorting centres in six metropolitan cities used machines for mail sorting (35000 /hr) Implemented Global Positioning Systems in its mail vans so that it could observe the movement of the vans and keep track of how much time it took for a van to travel from one place to another Acquired some of the aircraft of Indian Airlines for expediting delivery Modernization of India Post (2008-2012) India Post 2012 Program was to convert the postal department into a technology-enabled, self reliant market leader (cost INR 18,770 mn) India Post website was created and call-centre stations were established Post offices were provided with wide area network connections and broadband facilities Implemented for integrating the financial services systems of the postal department which will help in banking anytime, anywhere service India Post also invested in core banking-solution technology so that its saving bank and saving-certificate business could function properly TOWS: Survival strategies employed by India Post Maximaxi strategy: Firms build upon their strengths to exploit available opportunities Postal department has a good network of branches, especially in rural areas (more than 1,50,000 branches) Disposable incomes of even rural consumers are on the rise, and their need for various products ranging FMCGs to electronics is increasing Tying up with different FMCG providers and other consumer-durable companies to make their products available to rural areas (Snapdeal and Infibeam) Third-party logistics market in India is also expected to boom India Post started allying with various Indian e-commerce retailers such as Infinity to provide logistics services This strategy reaped benefits for the postal department, especially in the insurance / MF distribution business (revenues were higher than cots) TOWS: Survival strategies employed by India Post Maximini strategy: Firms use their strengths to overcome various threats Intense competitive rivalry from courier companies challenged the status quo for India Post India Post leveraged economies of scope to offer a wider range of services such as retail post and logistics post to the B2B market segment (prepaid mobile cards, cameras, application forms for competitive exams, personal loans and non-life insurance policies) Tie-ups with Cottage Emporium and Fabindia to set up small offices inside the emporiums so that customers could immediately send gifts purchased from these shops to their overseas friends and relatives Corporates preferred to ally with India Post to make products and services such as banking and insurance available (to deep interiors) To tackle the threat from information technology, India Post introduced various services such as hybrid post for customer with no internet access but wanting faster delivery of mail. TOWS: Survival strategies employed by India Post Mini-maxi strategy: Firms overcome weaknesses to take advantage of opportunities India Post had a good potential to act as a third-party logistics player for booming e-commerce companies It modernized its facilities, opened various warehouses, and designed new logos (designed by Ogilvy) that sent the customer- responsiveness message to big customers India Post gave some autonomy to circle managers to decide on the pricing norms for franchises to tap booming parcel industry TOWS: Survival strategies employed by India Post Mini-mini strategy: Firms weaknesses and threats are considered Increasing customer expectations due to availability of a wide variety of choices was threatening for India Post India Post frequently was unable to deliver mail to the correct address in a timely manner due to manpower problem Automated machines were introduced to increase India Posts customer focus India Post became more customer-responsive by introducing mobile postal services India Post launched Project Arrow and Project 2012, and introduced computerization on a huge scale Introduced GPS in mail vans