Royal Mail Group PLC: Strategic Issues and Competitive Advantage

This strategic analysis report focuses on Royal Mail Group PLC, a postal service company based in the United Kingdom. It identifies three key strategic issues facing the organization: uncertainty, globalization, and innovation, explaining why these are critical for the firm's sustainability and profitability. The report analyzes Royal Mail's tangible and intangible resources, highlighting its competitive advantages, such as brand awareness, customer information, and employee know-how. It assesses how the company's competitive strategy addresses these strategic issues, particularly concerning resource management, stakeholder satisfaction, and technological innovation, while also suggesting potential improvements. The analysis considers internal and external factors, including political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental influences, to provide a comprehensive view of Royal Mail's strategic positioning and future prospects.

STRATEGIC
ANALYSIS REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS REPORT..............................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Identifying 3 key strategic issues facing the organization with a clear explanation of why they
are “strategic”..............................................................................................................................1
Analyzing fully the resources and key capabilities of organization plus key factors that give
company its competitive advantage.............................................................................................3
Assessing the extent to which organization’s competitive strategy addresses its strategic issues
and suggest improvements...........................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
In today’s era, to make the business sustain in the long run, it is highly significant for
organizations to perform strategic analysis in an effectual manner. Strategic analysis can be
termed as the use of various tools with an aim to prepare business plans with making evaluation
of existing opportunities and challenges that company is facing in the market. In the present
report, to have in-depth understanding about strategic analysis, the firm, Royal Group Mail PLC
has been chosen which is a postal service company based in United Kingdom. Here, 3 key
strategic issues facing the organization will be discussed. Also, the resources and capabilities of
company along with key factors that give business its competitive advantage will be highlighted
in the report. Apart from that, there will be study on the extent to which organization’s
competitive strategy addresses its strategic issues.
Identifying 3 key strategic issues facing the organization with a clear explanation of why they are
“strategic”
With respect to Royal Group Mail PLC, three key strategic issues being faced by the
organization are uncertainty, globalization and innovation. In today’s scenario of business
environment where there is intense competition in between firms, these three strategic issues are
the major one because of which firm may get highly affected in terms of reduced profits,
hampered goodwill and decreased customer base. The reasons because of which these three
issues are considered to be strategic are:
Uncertainty – Uncertainty makes all firms uncomfortable and so, it is in case of Royal
Group Mail PLC. With the changing scenario where techniques and customer’s tastes and
preferences are changing at a fast pace, it is highly significant for company to have proper plans
so as to deal effectually with the uncertain situations occurring in business. This uncertainty
generally occurs in terms like new regulations imposed by government that may affect business,
global economy in which there is ups and downs, changes marketing tactics used by competitors
as well as entrance of new techniques in the market (Muller, 2011). For Royal Group Mail PLC,
this is a strategic issue as because of the same, firm gets negatively impacted in a way that
because of alterations occurring in the business environment, firm needs to bring changes
because of which employees get stressed and demotivated that disturbs the work flow of
organization. With respect to customers, when employees get demotivated, they perform
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inefficient services which makes the customers dissatisfied and thus, affects the profits and
goodwill of business in the market.
Globalization – For Royal Group Mail PLC, challenge of globalization is on their top
concern. It is because; for the expansion, it needs to enter in new markets for which to
understand the foreign languages is necessary so that existing products and services can be made
successful (Williamson and et.al., 2013). Globalization is a strategic issue for Royal Group Mail
PLC because if company wants to design new products and services among new customers, at
first, it has to do proper market research and in case if it will not be successful then business has
to face severe losses with regard to reduced profits and customer base as well as hampered
goodwill. Therefore, in order to resolve this issue, it is important for organization to understand
the international markets and cultures in an effective manner with the help of collecting
information and doing analysis on the same so as to assess the probability of gaining success
(Gorgenl, 2011). Under this strategic issue, one more problem with which firm has to go through
is that of incredible degree of government intervention. In every economy where Royal Group
Mail PLC is operating as well as wants to establish have their own government interventions
according to which organization has to change its strategies and policies so as to save itself
against any kind of legal obligations that regulatory authorities can take against them (Mennen,
2011).
Innovation –As in the present competitive era, all firms are looking for providing
innovative products and services and creative more ground-breaking culture, Royal Group Mail
PLC is also required to do the same. It is because; if the firm would not be adopting innovation
in business, staying in the market and beating competition would not be possible. This is the
reason; it is considered as a strategic issue where especially the large companies are facing major
problem with respect to innovation (Top Ten Problems Faced by Business, 2017). It is due to the
fact that in big organizations, this is the responsibility of CEOs to bring innovation in company
so that competitive edge can be gained in the market and firm would come in the position to beat
rivalry. Apart from that, as per the changing tastes and preferences of customers also, it is vital to
bring innovation by Royal Group Mail PLC otherwise, there will be the risk of their switching
over to other companies providing the same products and services. Therefore, to resolve this
strategic issue which is a threat for business, to bring innovation time to time is important as well
as maintaining a sense of control over the organization is equally important (Chadzingwa, 2010).
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Thus, it can be said that if company will not give due emphasis on the strategic issues then it may
lead to create problem in survival and sustainability of business in the market (Mennen, 2011).
So, to keep it growing and developing with an aim to have a leading position in industry, giving
due importance to strategic analysis is crucial.
Analyzing fully the resources and key capabilities of organization plus key factors that give
company its competitive advantage
Strategy made by a business is always concerned about matching firm's resources and its
competencies to the external environment with an aim to achieve strategic capabilities. Mainly,
the firms get affected in terms of their functioning and carrying out operations through external
factors. This is the reason; it is significant for organizations to make strategy as per the key
drivers of macro-environment. There are various resources and key capabilities of Royal Group
Mail PLC by which it can gain competitive advantages in the market over other rivalry firms.
The organization’s resources can be categorized into two categories namely tangible and
intangible (Büyüközkan, Çifçi and Güleryüz, 2011). Tangible resources can be termed as those
which are easy to be identified and evaluated by the firm in terms that their availability and non-
availability can be judged. These resources are like physical and financial assets of Royal Group
Mail PLC. In accordance with the tangible resources available in organization, company can
assess the opportunities existing in economy as well as possibilities by which existing assets can
be employed in a more profitable manner. Although, tangible assets prove to be the most
convenient for organization to deal with and to effectually manage the same, they do not
contribute in achieving the sustainable competitive advantage (Rothaermel, 2015). This is the
reason; focusing on intangible resources proves to more advantageous for organization.
Intangible resources are those that management does not see but their presence is visible.
These resources in Royal Group Mail PLC include skills and assets like particular technology,
goodwill and brand image of company, organization’s culture as well as accumulated consumer
information. Intangible resources are considered to be invaluable for Royal Group Mail PLC as
they lead to gain competitive power as a result of their potential uniqueness and sustainability.
The intangible resources of Royal Group Mail PLC are like effective brand awareness among
target customers, having a wide information related to target audience, high goodwill in the
market and innovations related to service (Wheelen, 2012). For Royal Group Mail PLC, the three
most valuable intangible resources are goodwill in the market and among customers, image of
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products and services offered as per the perception of target people as well as the employee
know-how. For the purpose of gaining competitive advantage over others along with
sustainability, it is important for the organization to have valuable and unique resources that no
other firm would be having. Therefore, it can be said that the resources which Royal Group Mail
PLC is having prove to be significant for formulating and implementing the strategy and thereby,
gaining the final outcomes. However, even in case if it is important to assess the nature of
organization’s resources, the way of managing same is equally significant (Lee, Ahn and Bang,
2011). The competency of organization in order to deploy and combine resources effectually
leads to attain the achievement of strategic capabilities.
Royal Group Mail PLC is having many capabilities which are leading the firm to attain
all set goals and objectives in an effectual manner. Company is attaining success and growth in
the market through making an effective use of these capabilities. With the help of them,
company becomes in position to assess the factors by which it can survive in the market for
longer span of time. All these capabilities are in the direct link with critical factors that lead a
firm to attain success in the long run. Royal Group Mail PLC aims at following a particular
strategy and give proper response to the customer needs by making effectual use of resources of
organization (Capar and et.al., 2013). For instance, Royal Group Mail PLC aims at offering
services in a timely manner to the end users for which it is important for the organization to
recruit skilled and efficient staff. These capabilities play a vital role in making firm able to
survive in the long run. In addition to this, there are also core competencies of Royal Group Mail
PLC which justify that the ability of firm to make a chain in running of firm’s activities by
combining resources and capabilities in a highly efficient and effectual manner.
Apart from that, there are many key factors that contribute in attaining the competitive
advantage over others in the market. For Royal Group Mail PLC, internal and external analysis
plays a significant role in helping the firm to know about the factors by which it can gain a
competitive edge in market over the rivalry firms. Internal factors are like stakeholders
associated with the business and under external analysis, political, economic, social,
technological, legal as well as environmental factors are included (Walker and et.al., 2014). All
these factors prove to be highly influential for the business and make it able to attain all
competitive advantage over other rivalry organizations. Royal Group Mail PLC keeps all its
stakeholders highly satisfied and thus, it is gaining their loyalty, trust and support in the long run.
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The stakeholders are employees, customers, suppliers, government, shareholders, etc. They all
are highly happy with what they are getting from the firm and in this way, company is having
competitive advantages over others. Further, political and economic environment in which the
organization is operating are also in favor of business with which company is running its
operations effectually (Zhang, Liu and Li, 2011).
Moreover, Royal Group Mail PLC is implementing various CSR activities and providing
high quality services for the society with which it is gaining a favorable social environment.
Apart from that, company is using highly advanced and latest technologies that are helping it in
providing services with high quality as well as in an innovative manner. This is leading to
increase the profits and revenues in market and therefore, company is gaining sustainability and
competitive advantage over others. Along with that, Royal Group Mail PLC is complying with
all laws and legislation due to which government also supports the organization. Last but not the
least; company also makes various initiatives to protect the environment and does not perform
any activity with which environment can get disturbed (Barney and Hesterly, 2015). Therefore,
overall it can be said that all these key factors are leading the firm to attain high growth and
success in the market.
Assessing the extent to which organization’s competitive strategy addresses its strategic issues
and suggest improvements
Competitive strategy is successful in addressing the strategic issues in Royal Group Mail
PLC to a high extent. With the help of this, company is earning higher profits in the market along
with revenues and increased market share. Along with that, firm is having high goodwill in the
market that is providing it a competitive edge over others and thus, firm is having a large
customer base as well. With the help of this, Royal Group Mail PLC is gaining sustainability in
the business and providing high quality services to the end users. Competitive strategies prove to
be highly effectual in making the firm successful by making it able to run the operations in a
smooth manner and therefore, company is surviving since a long period of time in an effective
manner (Aslani, Naaranoja and Wong, 2013). It is significant for Royal Group Mail PLC to
compete with the firms as if they will not have the required competitiveness, other rivalry firms
would not make it stay in the market and thus, survival of organization will become impossible.
Therefore, it can be said that to survive in the long run, gaining competitive advantages is highly
important. For Royal Group Mail PLC, competitive advantage is the key success factor as
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company is facing intense competition in the market due to which for surviving in the long run, it
is necessary that it will have high competitiveness. At the time of changes occurring in the
market, competitive advantages possessed by Royal Group Mail PLC may also get changed
(Büyüközkan and Çifçi, 2012).
At that time, the competitive strategies made by company play a crucial role in keeping
the firm successful by running its operations in a smooth and fast manner. In addition to this, it
can be said that organization is able to create and sustain competitive advantage only because of
the reason that it is having high capacity to improve on continuous basis along with innovating as
well as upgrading the competitive advantages with the passing years (Chadzingwa, 2010). As
Royal Group Mail PLC was facing the issue of high competition in the market and thus, its
profits and customer base were reducing, it started upgrading the process of shifting advantages
throughout the value chain as per its competitive strategy. Company has brought innovation in a
sophisticated manner along with employing talent in the firm in terms of higher levels of skill
and as well as technologies used. The major reason behind success of Royal Group Mail PLC is
that it is improving the quality of products and services on continuous basis as well as bringing
innovation in the processes (Gorgenl, 2011). In this way, company is successfully addressing the
strategic issues existing in business and dealing effectually with the same. Competitive success
of Royal Group Mail PLC is enhanced by evolving the advanced and latest technologies and
meeting the actual needs and expectations of customers in an effective manner.
The competitive strategies which Royal Group Mail PLC made can be classified by the
levels of the organization that are supposed to be responsible for making the same. Strategies at
corporate-level are formulated by the personnel working at top level who are liable to address
strategic issues that is being faced by Royal Group Mail PLC as a corporate whole (Mennen,
2011). Along with that, the strategies made at business-level prove to be highly beneficial for
dealing with the major business units or divisions of the corporate portfolio in an effectual
manner and in maintaining healthy relations with them. The personnel working at upper and
middle-level of management of Royal Group Mail PLC, that is, business unit managers make
competitive strategy by negotiating on key targets with the top corporate managers (Williamson
and et.al., 2013). These personnel play a significant role in helping the organization for the
purpose of attaining objectives as per the formulated corporate level strategy. It can be said that
with respect to Royal Group Mail PLC, all functional or business process strategies supported in
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addressing the strategic issues that are mainly faced by the managers working at lower-level and
their major work is to deal with strategies that are made for the organizational functions like
production, marketing, research and finance. These functions play a vital role in achieving the
aim of business strategies as well as for making the strategy made at corporate level successful
(Lee, Ahn and Bang, 2011).
It can be suggested to the management of Royal Group Mail PLC that to gain competitive
advantages over others firms present in the market, it is highly important for the organization to
bring innovation in business. As the sector in which company is operating, it is crucial to provide
innovative and high quality services to the users due to increasing competition in the market.
This will prove to be highly helpful for the organization to stay in the market for longer span of
time and survive with sustainability. In addition to this, this will help the organization in gaining
higher market share along with increased profits (Capar and et.al., 2013). Apart from that, if firm
will focus more on providing high quality services at reasonable cost, it can gain a large
customer base as well as remain in the competition as maximum people will be using its
services. Therefore, setting a competitive price and bringing innovation will prove to be
advantageous for Royal Group Mail PLC in order to run business in the long run.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that in the present scenario, major issues
faced by Royal Group Mail PLC are uncertainty, globalization and innovation. If organization
would not give due consideration on the same, sustaining in the long run will become highly
difficult for the business. It has been assessed that if firm would make prior strategies to deal
with uncertain changes in the business environment as well as if it would focus on leading
innovation, to reduce the chances of risks and keeping customers satisfied will become easy.
Thus, it can be said that strategic analysis plays a crucial role in making a firm successful in
market with gaining a competitive edge over others.
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REFERENCES
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