Case Study Description of FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version
The Senior Vice President of FormPrint's Medical Products business unit is considering issues raised by the upcoming introduction of a new 3D printing system, the Ortho500, which could print custom exoskeletal orthopedic splints, braces, and casts that conformed to a patient's body. The potential market extended beyond large urban hospitals (the Ortho's existing market) to high-volume outpatient offices in the U.S., with a long-term goal of expanding internationally. The product represents an important new market opportunity for FormPrint's Orthopedic business unit, but requires a new approach to marketing and sales. The immediate issue is whether the product should be sold by FormPrint's existing orthopedic sales force or by independent sales representatives. Other issues include the role of the Ortho500 in the company's global marketing strategy and the need for better marketing-sales coordination in a changing healthcare marketplace. If the Ortho500 failed to meet sales targets, bonus compensation would be reduced and the department could face layoffs. The case focuses on a core marketing decision-direct vs. indirect channels of distribution-and raises important issues in strategy development and implementation. The FormPrint case is ideal for use in courses on marketing strategy, marketing organization, B2B marketing, or new product development.
Swot Analysis of "FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version" written by Frank V. Cespedes, Alisa Zalosh includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ortho500 Formprint's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development, Sales and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ortho500 Formprint's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ortho500 Formprint's 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ortho500 Formprint's
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 Ortho500 Formprint's
Strengths FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ortho500 Formprint's in FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ortho500 Formprint's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ortho500 Formprint's in the sector have low bargaining power. FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ortho500 Formprint's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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
- Ortho500 Formprint's 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 Ortho500 Formprint's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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 Ortho500 Formprint's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ortho500 Formprint's has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ortho500 Formprint's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ortho500 Formprint's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Ortho500 Formprint's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ortho500 Formprint's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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 Frank V. Cespedes, Alisa Zalosh 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version - 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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 Ortho500 Formprint's 's lucrative customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ortho500 Formprint's is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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 Ortho500 Formprint's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ortho500 Formprint's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Ortho500 Formprint's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ortho500 Formprint's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ortho500 Formprint's has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Ortho500 Formprint's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ortho500 Formprint's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Ortho500 Formprint's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Ortho500 Formprint's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Ortho500 Formprint's, firm in the HBR case study FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version | 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ortho500 Formprint's 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, FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ortho500 Formprint's can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ortho500 Formprint's 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
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
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. Ortho500 Formprint's 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. Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Ortho500 Formprint's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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.
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. Ortho500 Formprint's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ortho500 Formprint's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ortho500 Formprint's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version case study. Ortho500 Formprint's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ortho500 Formprint's to increase its market reach. Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Ortho500 Formprint's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Ortho500 Formprint's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Threats FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ortho500 Formprint's 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version .
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Ortho500 Formprint's in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.
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 Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Increasing wage structure of Ortho500 Formprint's
– 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 Ortho500 Formprint's.
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 Ortho500 Formprint's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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. Ortho500 Formprint's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Ortho500 Formprint's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Ortho500 Formprint's 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ortho500 Formprint's is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Ortho500 Formprint's in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ortho500 Formprint's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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 FormPrint Ortho500, Spanish Version 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 Ortho500 Formprint's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
