Camper: Imagination is not Expensive SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Organizational Development
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Camper: Imagination is not Expensive
Camper is one of Spain's most well known brands. Throughout its 30-year history, Camper has been known for its innovative designs, approach to outsourcing, manufacturing, and in-store design. As of 2005, it's facing increasing competition from multinationals such as Nike. Examines how Camper has brought creativity and imagination to their business and what management can do to thrive in the future.
Swot Analysis of "Camper: Imagination is not Expensive" written by Jordan Mitchell, Rama Velamuri includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Camper Imagination facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Camper: Imagination is not Expensive case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Organizational culture, Risk management, Sales and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Camper: Imagination is not Expensive casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Camper: Imagination is not Expensive
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Camper: Imagination is not Expensive case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Camper Imagination, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Camper Imagination operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Camper: Imagination is not Expensive can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Camper: Imagination is not Expensive case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Camper Imagination
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Organizational Development field.
4. Making a Organizational Development topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Camper Imagination
Strengths Camper: Imagination is not Expensive | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Camper Imagination in Camper: Imagination is not Expensive Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Camper Imagination in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Camper Imagination is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Jordan Mitchell, Rama Velamuri can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Camper: Imagination is not Expensive firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Camper Imagination to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Camper Imagination to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Camper Imagination is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Camper Imagination is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Camper: Imagination is not Expensive Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Camper Imagination
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Camper Imagination does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Camper Imagination has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Camper Imagination to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Camper Imagination in the sector have low bargaining power. Camper: Imagination is not Expensive has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Camper Imagination to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Camper Imagination is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Camper Imagination is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Camper: Imagination is not Expensive are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Camper Imagination digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Camper Imagination has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Training and development
– Camper Imagination has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Camper: Imagination is not Expensive Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Camper Imagination has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Camper: Imagination is not Expensive | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Camper: Imagination is not Expensive are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Camper: Imagination is not Expensive HBR case study mentions - Camper Imagination takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Camper Imagination 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive, in the dynamic environment Camper Imagination has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Camper Imagination has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive, it seems that the employees of Camper Imagination don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Camper Imagination supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Camper: Imagination is not Expensive, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Camper Imagination vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Camper Imagination has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Camper Imagination is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Organizational Development segment. Camper Imagination needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Camper Imagination to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Camper Imagination, firm in the HBR case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Camper Imagination has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Camper Imagination even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Need for greater diversity
– Camper Imagination has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Lack of clear differentiation of Camper Imagination products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Camper Imagination needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Camper: Imagination is not Expensive | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive are -
Loyalty marketing
– Camper Imagination has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Organizational Development industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Camper Imagination can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Camper Imagination can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Camper Imagination to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Camper Imagination in the consumer business. Now Camper Imagination can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Camper Imagination can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Camper Imagination can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Organizational Development industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Camper Imagination can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Camper Imagination to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Developing new processes and practices
– Camper Imagination can develop new processes and procedures in Organizational Development industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Camper Imagination can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Camper: Imagination is not Expensive suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Camper Imagination can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Camper: Imagination is not Expensive, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Camper Imagination has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Camper Imagination to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Camper Imagination can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Threats Camper: Imagination is not Expensive External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive are -
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Camper Imagination business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Camper Imagination
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Camper Imagination.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Camper Imagination high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Camper Imagination in the Organizational Development sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Camper Imagination with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive, Camper Imagination may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Organizational Development .
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Camper Imagination demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Organizational Development field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Camper Imagination can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Camper Imagination will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Camper Imagination.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Camper Imagination is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Camper Imagination can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Camper: Imagination is not Expensive Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Camper: Imagination is not Expensive is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Camper: Imagination is not Expensive is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Camper Imagination needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.