Royal Dutch Shell Swot Analysis

Royal Dutch Shell plc, universally known as Shell, is a multinational oil company from Dutch and British origins. It is the second biggest private sector energy corporation in the world .The corporation 's headquarters is situated in The Hague, Netherlands and its registered office is located in London known as Shell centre. The Shell brand is one of the most acquainted commercial logo in the world recognized as the "pecten" after the sea shell which is the giant scallop, designed by Raymond Loewy and announced in 1971. The colors used in the logo represents the flag of Spain because Shell constructed early service stations in the state of California which had good associations with the country.

The corporation 's core business is the exploration

• Research into biofuels, solar power, wind power and energy from hydrogen helps the organization diversify in a market where ecological issues are of increasing concern, and also addresses issues of the longevity of fossil fuel reserves.

• Diversification into products such as fuel cards and credit cards helps Shell maintain a wider portfolio of products, spreading risk.

• Shell pioneered the use of scenarios, a planning tool where a range of possible future situations are explored and strategy adapted to ensure future demands can be met.

• The organization has worked hard to improve its general reputation and believes it is now seen more positively than it used to be.

• Shell has utilized opportunities to develop strategic partnerships, for example, supplying CO2, which is a by-product of its refinery process, to Dutch tomato farmers who had previously used heaters (higher CO2 concentration in greenhouses accelerates tomato growth).

• Shell has obtained competitive edge in terms of technology. In 2009, it spent over $1.2 billion in research and development activities (Shell, 2010

Despite the complexities and risks that are associated with the global operations of the company, there are opportunities for the company to expand and grow its operations in the emerging markets. Overall based on my findings, I think Royal Dutch has made an overall impact in the Oil and gas industry. Lastly, in order to remain competitive in the market they need to introduce some new measures such as developing effective marketing programs which would help increase sales in the organization thereby increasing market shares and provision of various incentives in the retail outlets to the customers e.g. free oil change on all its outlets. In order to cope with the dynamic environment, Royal Dutch Shell needs to invest more in research and development. The company can use a differentiation strategy to position its products globally as superior using its brand names. To deal with the risks of globalized operations, it is advisable that the company use strategic partnerships with the local operators in the new markets to enhance its penetration in the markets. Furthermore, the company can establish its competitive advantage increasing its control over the supply chain through more vertical integration mergers and acquisitions. Lastly, to increase efficiency of the company’s operations, there is need for re-engineering of the production process and adoption of new