Swot Analysis of "Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors" written by Benson P. Shapiro, Craig E. Cline includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cumberland Beta facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Negotiations, Pricing and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cumberland Beta, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cumberland Beta 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 Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cumberland Beta
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cumberland Beta
Strengths Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cumberland Beta in Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Cumberland Beta in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Cumberland Beta is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Cumberland Beta
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Cumberland Beta does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cumberland Beta 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 Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cumberland Beta is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Cumberland Beta 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Cumberland Beta is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Cumberland Beta in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cumberland Beta are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Cumberland Beta 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 Benson P. Shapiro, Craig E. Cline 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.
Training and development
– Cumberland Beta has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Cumberland Beta is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Cumberland Beta, firm in the HBR case study Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Cumberland Beta has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors 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 Cumberland Beta 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Cumberland Beta is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors, is just above the industry average. Cumberland Beta needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Cumberland Beta is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Cumberland Beta needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cumberland Beta to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Cumberland Beta supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cumberland Beta vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Cumberland Beta 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cumberland Beta 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Cumberland Beta 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 - Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cumberland Beta products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cumberland Beta needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors | 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 Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors are -
Manufacturing automation
– Cumberland Beta can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cumberland Beta 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, Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cumberland Beta in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cumberland Beta to increase its market reach. Cumberland Beta 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cumberland Beta 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 Cumberland Beta to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Cumberland Beta 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cumberland Beta can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Cumberland Beta can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cumberland Beta 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Cumberland Beta 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cumberland Beta is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
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 Cumberland Beta 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Cumberland Beta 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. Cumberland Beta 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.
Threats Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors are -
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 Cumberland Beta in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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 Cumberland Beta business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cumberland Beta 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.
Increasing wage structure of Cumberland Beta
– 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 Cumberland Beta.
Environmental challenges
– Cumberland Beta needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Cumberland Beta can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cumberland Beta 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 Cumberland Beta 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Cumberland Beta 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors, Cumberland Beta may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Regulatory challenges
– Cumberland Beta needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
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. Cumberland Beta 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cumberland Beta has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cumberland Beta needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors 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 Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors 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 Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors 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 Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors 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 Cumberland Metal Industries (B): Model Year 1978 Results with Beta Motors 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 Cumberland Beta needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
