Riverwood Logistics: Internal and External Analysis

Running head: RIVERWOOD LOGISTICS
RIVERWOOD LOGISTICS
Name of the Student
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Author Note

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Executive Summary
The aim of the study is to analyse the internal and external environments of an organization,
Riverwood Logistics Solutions with the help of different models of analysis. The
organization operates in Singapore and provides logistics services to different companies.
The first model of external analysis that has been determined in this study is PESTEL which
determines the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal aspects of
the organization. The second model is VUCA which determines the volatility, uncertainty,
complexity and ambiguity of the organization. The analysis that has been done with the help
of the VUCA framework shows the three major factors of the PESTEL analysis that holds the
highest importance for the company are the social, economic and technological factors.
The industry analysis is done with the help of the Porter’s five forces model. Finally
the internal analysis have been done with the help of resource based view framework (RBV)
and McKinsey’s 7S framework. The RBV model analyses the important resources of the
organization which are an integral part of the day to day operations of the organization. On
the other hand, the McKinsey’s framework analyses the different strategies that have been
implemented by the organization for the increase of their growth levels. The latter half of the
report discusses the different problems being faced by the organization and states certain
recommendations. Moreover, a conclusion to summarize the report has been provided.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. External Analysis...................................................................................................................3
2.1 PESTEL Analysis.............................................................................................................3
2.2 VUCA Analysis...............................................................................................................4
3. Industry Analysis...................................................................................................................6
3.1 Porter’s five forces...........................................................................................................6
4. Internal Analysis....................................................................................................................7
4.1. The Resource Based View Model...................................................................................7
VRIO Analysis.....................................................................................................................10
4.2. McKinsey’s 7S Analysis- Riverwood Logistics...........................................................12
5. Problems being faced by the Organization –Riverwood Logistics...................................13
6. Conclusion........................................................................................................................13
7. References.........................................................................................................................15
8. Appendix...........................................................................................................................18

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1. Introduction
Riverwood Logistics Solutions is a logistics company which is based in Singapore.
The mission of the company is to provide integrated logistics solutions to several other
business organizations. The vision of the company is to become the most favoured partner for
logistics services to other organizations all over the world. Riverwood Logistics Solution
operates on the values of reliability, personality, responsibility and responsiveness
(Riverwood 2018). Their aim is to deliver the best possible quality of service to their
customers, and to ensure that their customers are able to rely on their services in the future.
The report will strategically analyse the company Riverwood Logistics and their internal,
external environment using PESTEL, VUCA, RBV and McKinsey’s 7S models. It will also
conduct an industry analysis with the help of the Porter’s five forces model. In the last part
of the report, the problems which are being faced by the organization will be provided.
2. External Analysis
2.1 PESTEL Analysis
The PESTEL analysis have been used to understand the different external environments of
the organization based on certain factors and how they create and impact on the operations of
the organization.
 Political – Singapore is a country which faces very low risk of any political influence.
The Political Economic Risk Consultancy also known as PERC have announced that
Singapore is actually the country which faces the lowest political risk in comparison to
other countries (Düerkop and Huth). The government of Singapore supports all
business activities and growth which benefits the country. This fact is beneficial for
Riverwood Logistics as they will not find any opposition in establishing their business
and expand it according to the consumer demands.

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 Economic – Singapore has a fast growing economy and consists of a population who
produces the highest income per capita according to the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Zalengera et al. 2014). The companies operating in the country does
not face much corruption and there is a high availability of educated and talented
professional who contributes in the development of the economy. There is also a boost
in the logistics industry which is why the company will be able to flourish in the
economy and develop at a fast pace.
 Socio-cultural – Singapore is a country who is very protective of their traditions and
values. However, they are also open to the western culture and the younger generation
of the country is able to gather several new ideas and views which makes the country a
profitable place for every organization (Saleem 2007). Riverwood Logistics will have
a good scope to increase their profitability due to the abundance of a knowledgeable
population with high buying power.
 Technological – Internal is an integral part of the world in current times. The country
gives major importance to the innovations in technology and strives to become a fully
advanced country. The operations of Riverwood Logistics are mostly based on
technology and hence they could grow in the Singapore market due to their adaption to
the new technological advancements that come into the market. Moreover, new
technologies such as drones for deliveries have become a major part of the
technological scenario in the organization (Olivares 2015).
 Environmental – The high level of pollution in the country has led it to become an
unfavourable country for businesses to operate in. Both the air and the water quality if
the country has reached high level of being polluted (Middleton 2013). They are also
dependent on Malaysia for their water supply and has also been declared as the country
which has the highest level of harmful emissions from carbon dioxide. The operations

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of Riverwood Logistics is also a contributor to the level of pollution and hence is a
major threat for the country.
 Legal – The government of Singapore is very strict about their rules and regulations.
Their laws have always been in favour of businesses and especially those industries
which are in less numbers in the country (Cureau 2016). Riverwood Logistics will
have to conduct their operations in a legal way and not harm the country or carry out
any illegal operations in the country.
2.2 VUCA Analysis
The challenges faced by an organization due to external factors is analysed with the
help of the VUCA framework. The market situation of Riverwood Logistics shows several
challenges that are being faced by the organization.
 Volatility describe the sudden changes that occur in the market especially in the
pricing of products and services of Riverwood Logistics (Bennett and Lemoine 2014).
 Uncertainty is the unpredictable situation that arises because of the volatile scenario
of the market (Nandram and Bindlish 2017). The uncertainty can put an effect on the
profit of the organization as well.
 Complexity describes the different difficult situations that are faced by the
organization such as issues in transportation, fluctuations in the cost of production and
production inefficiency (Lawrence 2013).
 Ambiguity is the situation that arise in the organization due to the lack of ability to
understand the market and the customers (Szpitter and Sadkowska 2016). The
ambiguous situation arises in Riverwood Logistics when the employees of the
organization becomes incapable in handling the issues of the customers.