Vodafone UK SWOT Analysis and Porter's Five Forces Model

The report conducted a SWOT analysis of Vodafone UK, identifying its strengths, such as its established brand and customer service, and weaknesses, like high competition and technological advancements. Additionally, it used Porter's five forces model to analyze the company's competitors, substitutes, buyers, and suppliers, providing insights into the competitive landscape.

PESTLE AND SWOT OF
VODAFONE

INTRODUCTION 3
TASK 1 3
Evaluation of factors influencing an organisation by using different analytical models 3
CONCLUSION 7
REFERENCES 9

INTRODUCTION
Vodafone is largest telecom company in UK which has expanded its operations in all over the
world. It is headquartered in London. It operates in more than 25 countries and is continuously
adopting innovative ways to retain its customers and giving tough competition to its rivals. Every
company has some strength and weaknesses and same is in the case of Vodafone. This report
will help in analyzing the position of the company by SWOT analysis along with different
factors that affect it by pestle analysis. By implementing porter’s 5 force model, the clear idea
about position of Vodafone and effect of external and internal factors on its success will be
disclosed.
TASK 1
1. Evaluation of factors influencing an organisation by using different analytical models
Vodafone is one of the major leading telecommunication company which provides its
services all over the globe in 26 countries. In the UK it has over 19.5 million customers
and it has China mobile limited as its biggest competitor. Vodafone’s vision is to lead the
telecom market and to encourage others to grow as competitors. Evaluation of various
factors that affect Vodafone can be analysed by using various business analytical models
like Swot, Pestle and porter 5 force model.
Swot analysis of Vodafone UK
● Strength - One of the biggest strength of the company is its renowned and popular
brand name which attracts the customers because of its long lasting legacy and the
trust and faith which the company developed over many years. Brand recognition
and quality are its biggest strength that help it in retaining its customers and be

number one (Phadermrod, 2019.). Geographical range of the country is key
strength in its network building. It spreads around 26 countries which increases
the reach of the company and increases potential market opportunities. The
company is also strong in terms of innovativeness to improve the services and
upgrade with technological advancements. These characteristics attract customers
which are greeted with excellent customer service as well.
● Weakness - Although Vodafone UK is known for its best in class customer
service, it is suffering exponentially as it is not being utilised correctly with its
full potential causing it to lack behind in term of customer service when compared
to its competitors. Competitors merger has impacted the ranking of the company
significantly which is probable to cause reduction in the market share.
Implementation of changes in unlimited data tariff policies have impacted on on
the profits of the company.
● Opportunities - Growing demand in the telecommunication industry is a big
opportunities to expand in the upcoming markets and with the merger with O2 the
company will have the opportunity to expand its network and diversify with the
additional resources. Upcoming 5g bandwidth is an excellent opportunity for the
company to utilize its resource and to get a head start in the technological race
against its competitors. The company's capabilities to establish infrastructure for
greater data bandwidth provides a developed platform which needs to be
implemented to gain as much as possible from the opportunity.
● Threats - The biggest threat to the company is there technological rival
companies which can defeat Vodafone UK in the technological race. Foreign
rivals such as China mobile limited pose great threat to the company’s growth and
revenue. The market share captured by the rival and increased competitive
environment is also a threat to the company. Lack in customer satisfaction can be
major internal threat to the company. Dissatisfied customers may tend to switch to
competition affecting the company adversely. Increasing number of other means
of communications such as instant communication applications like Whatsapp,
iMessage, Skype pose serious threat to the telecommunication industry.

Pestel analysis of Vodafone UK-
Political factors - Every company is dependent on the political conditions of the country
or state where it intends to work. The political policies of UK can affect Vodafone UK in both
positive and negative ways. Leniency in the policies and a stable political environment helps the
company to grow and work as a strength of the company. In UK lenient tax reforms and
licensing has help Vodafone to establish in the country efficiently (Zhao, and et.al.,, 2016. ).
● Economic factors - The economic environment of UK has mixed effects on Vodafone
UK. The strict labour laws and lack of cost affective labour is expensive for the
company. The cost of building new infrastructure is also high in UK as compared to other
countries which affect the growth rate of the company. The cost of new licensing the 5g
bandwidth can be a roadblock for the company’s technological advancement. The GDP
of the country contributes in the employment opportunities created by Vodafone UK.
● Social Factor - As a telecommunication company, Vodafone UK has the responsibility
towards the healthcare of the citizens of UK. The radiation released through the networks
are allegedly suspected for harming the environment and affect the life of users. New 5g
technology with a different bandwidth and stronger signal arises questions of its affect on
public health. Strict health regulatory policies in UK ensures the company takes
appropriate steps to ensure safety of the public as well as the environment. The policy of
the company should be friendly towards the culture and nature of the people which are its
customers. This factor is very important when targeting a specific geographical area
(Sammut‐Bonnici, 2015).
● Technological factor - Vodafone UK is known for its innovations and technological
advancements and with its future next generation network plans it can lead the
telecommunication industry because of its fast paced advancement in the technological
sector. In UK it will licence for the 5g bandwidth which provides high speed network
services to its customers. People tend to get attracted towards the technologically
advanced company to stay updated with upcoming new facilities and services which can
be possible with resources directed and focused on research and development in the
company.

● Legal Factors - Similar to any other company, Vodafone UK is bound to work with the
laws framed in the UK. All the products and services provided by the company shall be
within the laws of the country. The company has the responsibility to ensure that the laws
are being followed and any changes in the laws must be addressed with appropriate
changes in the product, service or policy. Competition laws in UK ensure fair
competition in the industry which eventually profits the customers as the fair competition
forces the company’s to improve themselves.
● Environmental Factors - It is a social responsibility of the company to be environment
friendly. Vodafone UK has created such programs and activities which affect the
environment positively, one such attempt is the recycling of the cell phones by the
company. While advancing in the technological field the company is also required to
keep the environment safe, the public health and the health of the environment must not
be compromised and the social responsibility towards the society need to be considered
as the company progresses and grows.
Porter’s five forces model for competitive analysis
It is a framework to analyze the competition and to develop strategy and business plan.
Degree of Rivalry (High)
The degree of rivalry is high as there are many competitors of Vodafone company
providing services in cheap rates which create cut throat competition among rivalries and as
already stated the biggest threat of Vodafone is technology advancement by other companies
which can reduce its market share (Ang, 2016.).
Threat of new entry (Low) -
Vodafone UK is an established brand with years of customer service in UK, providing it
the advantage over any new entry threats in the telecommunication industry. The policies in UK

are rigid which makes it difficult for new companies to enter the market, the policies act as
barriers for new companies.
Threat of substitutes (High) -
The threat of substitute is high as the other telecom companies update new technology
every now and then and have innovations and creativity in their services which create threat for
Vodafone company (Porter’s five force model 2018).
Power of buyers (High)
The power of buyers is too high as they have a lot of option to choose from and there is
cut throat competition between companies regarding price and technology therefore customers
are always on upper hand. Thy can switch one company to another to prevail benefits of low
cost.
Power of suppliers (Low)
The power of suppliers is the opposite of power of buyer, the suppliers have power over
the buyers and they can charge with different prices. The supplier focus mainly on the relative
size and quantity of supplies in the market. The power of supplier is low as they are high in
number and company can switch to other suppliers easily.
CONCLUSION
The report concluded the strength and weakness of the company got affected by political,
legal, social and legal factors which can affect the company positively as well as negatively. The
report showed the porter’s five force analysis to get a clear picture on threat and opportunities
that can be achieved by the the company and can help in retaining its customers and working on
its weaknesses.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Ang, R., 2016. Vodafone Global Telecommunications: Optimizing Operations. IUP Journal of
Operations Management. 15(4). p.46.
Bogush, A.A., and et.al., 2018. Element speciation in UK biomass power plant residues based on
composition, mineralogy, microstructure and leaching. Fuel. 211. pp.712-725.
Klauer, T., 2015. Valuation of Vodafone Group.
Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R.M. and Wills, G.B., 2019. Importance-performance analysis based
SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management. 44. pp.194-203.
Sammut‐Bonnici, T. and Galea, D., 2015. SWOT analysis. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management.
pp.1-8.
Zhao, Z.Y., and et.al.,, 2016. Competitiveness assessment of the biomass power generation
industry in China: A five forces model study. Renewable Energy. 89. pp.144-153.
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