Not logged in.
Quick Search - Contribution
Contribution Details
| Type | Master's Thesis |
| Scope | Discipline-based scholarship |
| Title | Market Analysis for the Business Unit SBB Personenverkehr Fahrzeugindustrie |
| Organization Unit | |
| Authors |
|
| Supervisors |
|
| Language |
|
| Institution | University of Zurich |
| Faculty | Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics |
| Number of Pages | 63 |
| Date | 2018 |
| Abstract Text | The aim of this master thesis is to conduct a company and market analysis. The business unit SBB Personenverkehr Fahrzeugindustrie provides its services to internal customers. The business unit Fahrzeugindustrie is part of the business line SBB Personenverkehr Operating. The unit consists of approximately 1000 employees and generates a yearly revenue of CHF 400m. Its services are project management, planning, consulting, conceptualizing, engineering, procurement, prototyping, production and commissioning. The services are provided in retrofits, revisions, and repairs (3R) of railroad rolling stock. Thus projects are conducted for locomotives, wagons and multiple unit trains. Currently, most services are provided to internal customers. Due to changes of the railway market, the business unit FZI is required to change its strategic focus. For instance, the liberalization of the public transportation market allows intercity busses and other railway undertakings (or eventually autonomous cars) to compete with the SBB. Especially, the eventual implementation of the fourth railway package, which proposes that rail companies must be granted access to domestic passenger services in all EU Member States, will lead to an increased competition, also in Switzerland as it is likely to adopt the regulation. As a consequence, SBB's market share might decrease, reducing the volume of orders for FZI. Furthermore, the modern trains are constructed based on a modular strategy instead of a platform strategy causing obsolete components to be changed quickly. These tasks can usually be performed in light maintenance centers which also reduces the revenue of FZI. As a consequence, FZI needs to acquire new customers in order to secure its revenue stream. Accordingly, it is examined whether the business unit is competitive on the free market as an increasing number of companies such as rolling stock producers and operators offer similar services. Furthermore, it is studied whether new clients are interested to use the services of FZI. Therefore, a company and market analysis is conducted, which examines the existing demand for the provided services and the competitors of FZI's business. Additionally, the challenges are evaluated and objectives as well as measures are to be formulated how to cope with the challenges. Finally, actions are evaluated in order to improve the unit's capability of selling services to potential customers. The study finds that the market for vehicle maintenance is supposed to become more competitive in the years to come. Vehicle manufactures start to offer maintenance services as railway operators have done. The business model of incumbent maintenance companies is consequently threatened. Furthermore, modern trains require less heavy maintenance as revisions or retrofit projects. Instead, they are replaced more often or maintained by using the concept of modular revision. Accordingly, the business unit SBB Fahrzeugindustrie will face less orders from the internal customer and a more competitive environment in the market. In order to remain competitive, the business unit has to proactively cope with the named challenges and gain orders for 3R services from third parties. Fortunately for SBB FZI, it needs to be mentioned that it is already competitive on the free market. It is able to acquire orders from external customers such as BLS or Windhoff Schweiz. Despite the past success in winning new customers, the business unit further needs to increase its effort to win new customers. The thesis depicts the conditions of a changing and liberalizing market and the challenges of an incumbent market player. It is assumed that the strong position of this player will be weakened if he does not react proactively. Therefore, six global strategies are developed ranging from cooperating with OEMs to forming a European network with other railway undertakings to increasing the own efficiency. The last might be the most important and the one measure that can be implemented without coordinating with other market actors. The customer requirements have to be understood and the offered products should to be tailored accordingly. Also, lasting relationships with existing and potential customers have to be developed in order to predict precisely what demands and orders are desired at what point in time. Finally, the business unit's overheads need to be reduced in order to win contracts. It is concluded that the business unit is currently competitive on the free market. However it needs to strain to become even more competitive. Costs have to be reduced and additional customer relationships established. |
| Export |
BibTeX
|