Swot Analysis of "Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis" written by Frank V. Cespedes, Alex Godden includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 813104 Faraway facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Product development, Sales and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 813104 Faraway, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 813104 Faraway 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 813104 Faraway
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 813104 Faraway
Strengths Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of 813104 Faraway in Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that 813104 Faraway 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.
Analytics focus
– 813104 Faraway 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, Alex Godden 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
– 813104 Faraway has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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.
Organizational Resilience of 813104 Faraway
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that 813104 Faraway does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– 813104 Faraway 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of 813104 Faraway in the sector have low bargaining power. Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps 813104 Faraway to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Successful track record of launching new products
– 813104 Faraway has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 813104 Faraway 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
– 813104 Faraway is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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
– 813104 Faraway has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled 813104 Faraway to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- 813104 Faraway 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 813104 Faraway is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For 813104 Faraway digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. 813104 Faraway 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.
Weaknesses Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, 813104 Faraway 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.
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 813104 Faraway supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left 813104 Faraway vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, 813104 Faraway 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 813104 Faraway is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis, is just above the industry average. 813104 Faraway 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis, in the dynamic environment 813104 Faraway has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 813104 Faraway has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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 813104 Faraway has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though 813104 Faraway 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 - Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis HBR case study mentions - 813104 Faraway 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis, 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Frank V. Cespedes, Alex Godden suggests that, 813104 Faraway 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.
Opportunities Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis | 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis are -
Manufacturing automation
– 813104 Faraway 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.
Buying journey improvements
– 813104 Faraway can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help 813104 Faraway to increase its market reach. 813104 Faraway 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.
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 813104 Faraway in the consumer business. Now 813104 Faraway can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 813104 Faraway 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, 813104 Faraway is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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. 813104 Faraway can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects 813104 Faraway can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– 813104 Faraway can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for 813104 Faraway 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 813104 Faraway to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. 813104 Faraway can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– 813104 Faraway 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for 813104 Faraway 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.
Threats Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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 813104 Faraway business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 813104 Faraway 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 813104 Faraway 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis .
Consumer confidence and its impact on 813104 Faraway 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 813104 Faraway with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– 813104 Faraway 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. 813104 Faraway can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– 813104 Faraway 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.
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 813104 Faraway.
Increasing wage structure of 813104 Faraway
– 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 813104 Faraway.
Regulatory challenges
– 813104 Faraway 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that 813104 Faraway is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– 813104 Faraway has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, 813104 Faraway 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.
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. 813104 Faraway needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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 Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis 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 813104 Faraway needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
