1. CIM membership number: 38425209
Examination centre: London Metropolitan University
PESTEL analysis
P1 The project for the new deep sea container terminal has been approved by the Government.
The governmental support comes from both the local and national authorities, as it is believed this
new facility (which anyway will not be built until the economy has recovered and demand has
grown) will help boosting the local economy, improve the national ports sector and create more
than 1000 new jobs.
P2 A parliamentary committee had been debating about the construction of a barrage across the
Severn Estuary to generate sustainable energy that would supply up to 5% of the UK’s electricity
output. If the barrage was built, Bristol Port would be severely affected because of the lower
water levels which could not allow big ships to pass through the area. Recently, a report published
by the Government’s Energy and Climate Change Committee suggested to find alternatives to the
barriage and the Government knocked back its building proposal.
P3 Continuous concern about environment has arisen among governments of developed countries
and taxes on fuel have been advocated as a way to reduce carbon emission. Fuel duty is increasing
especially on fuels which are intended for transportation and this results in higher costs for
delivering goods: it becomes then necessary to minimize the distances travelled by cargo owners.
The proximity of Bristol Port to industrial areas and inland container destinations allow the Port to
gain a major competitive advantage against the other competitors in the South and East of the
Country.
E1 After a steady period of growth, UK’s ports’ traffic faced a remarkable drop in the recent years.
Traffic still remains lower than pre-crisis levels. Although encouraging signals are showing a
potential recovery of the global economy and, in particular, of the British economy in the EU
scenario, a significant increase in trade is yet to come.
E2 Container traffic, compared with the total seaborne trade, grew faster and represents at the
moment the main aspect of global port activities. Bristol Port accounts for only about 1% of the
total of the container units handled by the 15 major UK ports (percentage relatively lower than its
market share of 1,9% in terms of total volume of traffic) and the investment in the deep sea
container terminal could represent a new asset to use against the competition and a further
source of income. It is to be considered though that the container shipping industry will be
registering a particular growth in the developing countries and, elsewhere, commodities tend to
be found and supplied locally.
E3 In UK, a general stagnation of export has characterized the last two decades and, in particular,
marine shipping is affected by a significant decrease of liquid bulk traffic. Coal import fell down
completely and, cause or consequence of this, Bristol Port is losing (as customer) its most
profitable source, a coal power station which is about to close.
E4 A sector in which UK is performing quite well is cars export. Many global manufacturers based
their production in the region surrounding Bristol Port, that, being ranked fifth for import/export
of vehicles among all the other ports in UK, can probably continue to count on this trade as major
origin of revenue.
S1 Developed countries, UK inclusive, are experiencing the phenomenon of population ageing.
This ongoing process is likely to cause a shift in consuming behaviours, since elder people tend to
increase categories of expenditure as (for example) services for health care, spending less on
consumer goods. In the long term, that may result in a reduced activity in the distribution chain.

2. CIM membership number: 38425209
Examination centre: London Metropolitan University
S2 Population in UK is gradually moving toward the South of the Country. This could be beneficial
for Bristol Port as more people, business activities and residential areas will be concentrate closer
to the Port than before.
T1 Since decades, globalization, standardization and the need to reach economies of scale made
necessary for the biggest ports to manage efficiently the process of containerisation. Today, the
major challenge is to be able to accommodate ships continuously bigger in size and capacity.
Consequently, ports’ terminals need to adapt to these dimensions and provide adequate facilities
and infrastructure to freight companies, especially the ones operating worldwide.
T2 Different kinds of facilities to let fuel enters/leaves the port need to be developed, since new
materials, such as biomass (in particular next to Bristol Port) will be used to create energy by
modern power stations.
En1 In order to get not only environmental sustainability, but also social commitment, ports and
terminals are expected to guarantee safety for employees in all the operations (even exceding the
existing regulation imposed by the Government) due to the possible expansion and adoption of
new facilities and machinery. The responsibility for the social environment shown by the Bristol
Port Company regards also the important role played in helping the local economy, thanks to the
investments made in the past and planned in the future short term.
En2 Global warming issues remain the primary concern of any industry. Being able to provide
services producing the lowest carbon emissions possible gives a decisive competitive advantage,
besides contributing in the preservation of the natural environment.
En3 Many stakeholders, among which a few non departmental public bodies and a well known
charity (RSPB) have been involved in the evaluation of the impact of the new deep sea container
terminal on the surrounding natural system: the Bristol Port Company is facing the preservation of
the wildlife habitat and will be asked to compensate the unavoidable damages caused to the
landscape. The measures applied are intended to keep safe both the fauna and people (a 120
hectares of new habitat on a local peninsula will be created and protections against flooding from
the Severn Estuary will be improved as well).
L1 The accreditation (ISO 9001:2000) granted by the International Organization for
Standardization imply that all the procedures described under this particular regulation have to be
met and followed entirely. Complying with these rules allows the Company to minimize internal
damage risks and demonstrate work effectiveness to its clients, even though it may require more
operational controls and time to carry out activities.
L2 The Bristol Port Company benefits from a long lease (150 years) of their dock estate. That
permits the Company to set objectives in the long term and make investments with no risk of
expropriation.

3. CIM membership number: 38425209
Examination centre: London Metropolitan University
SWOT analysis
STRENGHTS
St1 Profitable company, well run and with
investments capability.
St2 Convenient location.
St3 Technically advanced; easy access to
transport infrastructure.
St4 Extended service portfolio.
St5 Flexible and adaptable business.
WEAKNESSES
W1 Small SME; small market share.
W2 Loss of coal power station as customer.
W3 Still no deep sea capacity.
W4 Wildlife issues yet to be solved.
OPPORTUNITIES
O1 Steady growth of seaborne trade and of
container shipping sector in particular.
O2 High level of cars export in UK.
O3 Two new potential biomass power stations
as customers. Biomass energy to be produced
in more quantity in the near future.
04 Possibility to improve its performance
among the busiest ports of UK.
THREATS
Th1 Ongoing recession: potential repercus-
sions in investments and vehicles market.
Th2 Fierce competition; other ports’ develop-
ment.
Th3 Tidal barrage across the River Severn.
Th4 Downturn in crude oil shipments.
Th5 Possible wildlife environmentalist actions.

4. CIM membership number: 38425209
Examination centre: London Metropolitan University
STRENGHTS - Substantial growth of annual revenue (from £22 million to £78 million) and volume
of traffic (from 4 million tonnes to 12 million) have been seen since privatisation. In the last 22
years, £300 million has been invested to innovate facilities and train an efficient workforce and
management (St1). Based in an economical distribution location, Bristol Port operates in a florid
industrial area and it is closer to the majority of UK’s container market than other ports in the
south (St2). The dock is served with specialised equipment to handle modern container vessels (up
to 130,000 DWT), to lift heavy cargo, manage project gargo and accommodate RoRo vessels;
motorways and rail connections are well integrated into the national network; about 1 million
squares metres of warehousing, external storage space and wholesale distribution space are
offered (St3). Referring to the BCG model, car shipments and import of aviation fuel are “cash
cows” and the biomass serving the new potential customers may represent a future “star”.
Additionally, Bristol Port has bulk and fresh produce terminals, the latter strategically important
for the retail industry (St4). The legal form of First Corporate Shipping Limited (Ltd) allows the
Company to be dynamic, responsive to changes and flexible with customers’ requirements (St5).
WEAKNESSES – Being a relatively small enterprise makes Bristol Port vulnerable to a few changes;
they may not be able to face a price-war as the whole market is dominated by a restricted number
of players (the top 5 ports account for about the 50% of the market). The performance in liquid
and dry bulk shipment is poor and these two cargo types represent in tonnage 2/3 of the total port
traffic in UK (W1). Immediate lack of income will be derived by the loss of its biggest customer, a
coal power station (W2). The new deep sea container terminal will not be built as long as there are
no positive economic conditions and, in the meantime, competitors have the chance to make the
first move: without this facility, Bristol Port remains in a weaker position especially respect its first
competitor in the area, Liverpool Port (W3). Furthermore, in order to build the terminal, Bristol
Port has to create (in advance) a safe habitat for the local wildlife as compensation (W4).
OPPORTUNITIES – Despite economic uncertainty, an increase in seaborn traffic was registered
after the crisis and containerisation continues to play an essential role in manufactured goods
shipment: links and close relationships with emerging economies would be therefore effective
(O1). Solid cars manufacturers companies located nearby will need Bristol Port for their
import/export activities (O2). E.ON and Helius Energy could bring into Bristol Port biomass matter,
which may represent a considerable source of energy in the future (O3). A few favorable factors
can help Bristol Port to create a kind of monopoly in the south-west: governmental carbon
emission policies makes the Port convenient for its proximity to critical areas; referring to the
Ansoff matrix, product development strategy is reachable thanks to the ability to offer various
services, market penetration may be granted by the new deep sea container terminal and market
extension can be pursued as new customers are going to be involved and new markets can be
served. The capability to focus in particular sectors and differentiate the offer is necessary (O4).
THREATS – Bristol Port is waiting for a consistent economic growth in order to proceed with the
investments planned; import/export of cars may be seriously affected if the european car market
carries on shrinking (Th1). The major competitors are all developing new infrastructure and
facilities, principally to keep their competitive advantage in the cargo containerisation sector (Th2).
A serious threat is the Severn Tidal Barrage, that would limit the activity of Bristol Port (Th3). The
decline in crude oil traffic represents a minor threat since Bristol Port, compared with other ports,
has never performed significantly well in it (Th4). If the environmental issues will not be properly
managed, Bristol Port may experience obstacles and adverse actions from pressure groups (Th5).