Case Study Description of Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH
Jess Westerly is the assistant product owner of CRM applications for computer and office supply wholesalers and retailers at Kauflauf, a fast-growing provider of subscription enterprise software headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Only months into her job, outsider Westerly tries and fails to implement a change in field consultants' sales call patterns. Westerly had introduced the changes to the sales organization via a memo that outlined her directive and explained the reasons behind it. Field consultants immediately complained about the infringement on their decisions about how to spend their time and the insensitivity to the relationship-oriented nature of developing business. Three months later, sales statistics show little difference in calling patterns. After explaining, defending, and reshaping her stalled initiative, Waverly presents her amended proposal to key senior executives and is given three weeks to produce an implementation plan. If the plan is deemed acceptable, she will be asked to implement it.
Swot Analysis of "Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH" written by John J. Gabarro, Colleen Kaftan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Westerly Kauflauf facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Organizational culture, Product development, Sales, Technology and Organizational Development.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Westerly Kauflauf, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Westerly Kauflauf 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 Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Westerly Kauflauf
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 Westerly Kauflauf
Strengths Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Westerly Kauflauf in Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Westerly Kauflauf 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 Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Westerly Kauflauf is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Westerly Kauflauf has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Westerly Kauflauf to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Organizational Development industry
– Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Westerly Kauflauf to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Organizational Development industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Westerly Kauflauf to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Learning organization
- Westerly Kauflauf 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 Westerly Kauflauf is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Organizational Development segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Westerly Kauflauf digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Westerly Kauflauf 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Westerly Kauflauf has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Westerly Kauflauf has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Organizational Resilience of Westerly Kauflauf
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Westerly Kauflauf does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Westerly Kauflauf in the sector have low bargaining power. Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Westerly Kauflauf to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Westerly Kauflauf is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Westerly Kauflauf has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Westerly Kauflauf has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Westerly Kauflauf needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Westerly Kauflauf is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH, in the dynamic environment Westerly Kauflauf has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Westerly Kauflauf has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Westerly Kauflauf has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Westerly Kauflauf has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH HBR case study mentions - Westerly Kauflauf 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John J. Gabarro, Colleen Kaftan suggests that, Westerly Kauflauf is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Westerly Kauflauf is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Westerly Kauflauf products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Westerly Kauflauf needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Westerly Kauflauf 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. Westerly Kauflauf 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.
Opportunities Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH | 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 Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Westerly Kauflauf has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Westerly Kauflauf to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH case study. Westerly Kauflauf can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Westerly Kauflauf 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. Westerly Kauflauf 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Westerly Kauflauf in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Organizational Development segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Westerly Kauflauf to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Westerly Kauflauf to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Westerly Kauflauf can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Westerly Kauflauf operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Organizational Development sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Westerly Kauflauf to increase its market reach. Westerly Kauflauf will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Westerly Kauflauf 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, Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH, 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
– Westerly Kauflauf 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 Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Westerly Kauflauf to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Westerly Kauflauf can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Westerly Kauflauf can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Westerly Kauflauf 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.
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. Westerly Kauflauf can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Westerly Kauflauf 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.
Threats Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Westerly Kauflauf can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Westerly Kauflauf in the Organizational Development industry. The Organizational Development industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Westerly Kauflauf needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Organizational Development industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Westerly Kauflauf business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Westerly Kauflauf can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Westerly Kauflauf 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Westerly Kauflauf has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Organizational Development industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Westerly Kauflauf needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Organizational Development sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
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 Westerly Kauflauf.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Westerly Kauflauf is facing in Organizational Development sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Westerly Kauflauf 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Westerly Kauflauf with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Westerly Kauflauf 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH 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 Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH 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 Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH 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 Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH 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 Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH 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 Westerly Kauflauf needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.