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India Post TOWS Matrix

Identifying Strategic Options


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

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