Agility Logistics is a company that is based out of the Middle East and primarily operates in two sectors namely infrastructure and logistics. The company which started operations from a small godown in Kuwait has today become the largest logistics network in the Middle East with business in all parts of the world.
The company that is publicly traded in both Kuwait and Dubai has around 22,000 employees and registered an annual turnover of USD 4.1 billion in the year 2017. The logistics chain of Agility connects customers across more than 100 countries.The infrastructure division of Agility Logistics works toward supporting the governments of emerging economies to improve their trade infrastructure.
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Strengths in The SWOT analysis of Agility Logistics
Strengths are defined as what each business does best in its gamut of operations which can give it an upper hand over its competitors. The following are the strengths of Agility Logistics
- Divers customer portfolios: Agility Logistics caters to a wide spectrum of the client from various industries such as automotive, chemicals, defense, consumer goods, industrial, oil and gas and government.
- Expertise in emerging economies: Agility Logistics focuses primarily on the emerging markets since they are of the opinion that after the recession there is a lot of demand and supply gaps in emerging economies which has increased the need for logistics services there.
- End to end logistics services: Agility provided end to end logistics services through air, rail, road, and sea. Some of their services include supply chain management, transportation, and warehousing, project logistics, chemical logistics, logistics for events and exhibitions and management of household goods.
- Series of acquisitions: In order to grow to become the largest logistics company in the Middle East, Agility Logistics had been involved in more than 40 logistics brands from various part of the world.
- Wide network: Agility Logistics is currently the biggest logistics services network in the world with operations in more than 100 countries and over 22,000 employees. The company has positioned themselves as an integrated logistics service provider since they work across multiple industries offering end to end logistics services.
Weaknesses in The SWOT analysis of Agility Logistics
Weaknesses are used to refer to areas where the business or the brand needs improvement. Some of the key weaknesses of Agility Logistics include:
- Over-dependence on people: The logistics industry is a labor-intensive industry and thus for improved services they need to be people-centric. The over-dependence of the company on people makes it tedious to manage regular training, periodic performance appraisals and regular pay hikes.
- Huge capital outlay: Logistics is a balance between men, machine and skill sets and the returns are growth depends on how precisely the orders are delivered. For this, it is necessary to invest huge amounts in the right kind of transport equipment, the right people and also to hone them on the right skill sets. Added to all this technology also play a critical role which is also an added expense. This makes Agility invest huge amounts in the right systems.
- Poor customer contact: The company focuses primarily on emerging economies where infrastructure is inadequate in many areas especially in remote locations. The last mile delivery and customer contact are often inadequate from Agility which creates dissatisfaction in their minds and leads to loss of business.
- Low brand Recall: Agility Logistics is a relatively new player in the sector and thus does not have the name or brand recall that many of their older competitors like UPS or FedEx enjoy.
- Poor presence in developed economies: Agility Logistics has been focusing on emerging economies and thus have not been able to create a strong market presence in USA or Europe where logistics is a growing requirement.
Opportunities in The SWOT analysis of Agility Logistics
Opportunities refer to those avenues in the environment that surrounds the business on which it can capitalize to increase its returns. Some of the opportunities include :
- Focus on urban migration: In emerging economies with reduced scope of agriculture, there is an increases rate of rural to urban migration. This means that the population in cities and towns are going to increase and as this happens there will be an increase in the need for supply chain management services for businesses as well as households. This can be a huge opportunity for logistics companies.
- Digitisation: Digitisation will present a huge opportunity for logistics companies in terms of saving of costs and this will also change the industry which was once people intensive to being technology intensive.
Threats in The SWOT analysis of Agility Logistics
Threats are those factors in the environment which can be detrimental to the growth of the business. Some of the threats include:
- Customer satisfaction: Satisfying the customer will become a huge threat for logistics companies since customers today have very specific needs. This may call for a need for technologies like robotics to improve last mile delivery and to also increased customisation of logistics services.
- Changing competitive landscape: The competitive landscape is changing at an alarming rate and with the growing popularity of online retailers and 3 PL providers logistics companies like agility will need to be on guard to retain their current businesses.
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