Case Study Description of Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A)
In December 2007, Korean conglomerate Doosan acquired a portfolio of industrial portable power equipment from U.S. company Ingersoll Rand. The acquisitions, the largest ever done by a Korean company outside of Korea, were part of Doosan's strategy to become a global, full-line manufacturer and marketer of construction equipment. With market-leading products under the company's parent brand name throughout Asia, Doosan's senior management expected to re-brand the acquired products using the Doosan name. Stefan Brosick, Director of Global Product Strategy and an Ingersoll Rand veteran, wondered whether Doosan would benefit from an immediate re-branding or if other branding strategies might be more effective. Many key questions needed to be answered before the December 2008 long-range plan presentation: What effect might changing the brand name, built over 135 years, have on these products' market positions? In addition to the name, what other branding elements carried equity in the construction market? How would end users and distributors react to brand changes? How could negative reactions be minimized? And if Brosick proposed a phased brand transformation plan, how could he best position this strategy to senior management? Learning objectives: The case illustrates the strategic role of branding in business-to-business markets, the pressures managers encounter when facing new corporate brand mandates, and analyses needed to formulate and evaluate alternative branding strategies.
Authors :: Dominique Turpin, Martin Roth
Topics :: Sales & Marketing
Tags :: Business models, International business, Mergers & acquisitions, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A)" written by Dominique Turpin, Martin Roth includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Doosan Branding facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business models, International business, Mergers & acquisitions and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) casestudy better are - – technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Doosan Branding, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Doosan Branding 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 Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Doosan Branding
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 Doosan Branding
Strengths Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Doosan Branding in Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Doosan Branding 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 Dominique Turpin, Martin Roth 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)
– Doosan Branding 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 Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Doosan Branding has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Doosan Branding 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.
High brand equity
– Doosan Branding has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Doosan Branding to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Doosan Branding is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Doosan Branding 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 Doosan Branding is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Doosan Branding is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Doosan Branding has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Doosan Branding digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Doosan Branding 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Doosan Branding 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 Doosan Branding in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Doosan Branding is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Doosan Branding is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A), 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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 Doosan Branding has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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 Doosan Branding 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Doosan Branding has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Doosan Branding 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A), in the dynamic environment Doosan Branding has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Doosan Branding has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Doosan Branding is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Doosan Branding products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Doosan Branding needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) HBR case study mentions - Doosan Branding 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Doosan Branding, firm in the HBR case study Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Doosan Branding 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.
Opportunities Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) | 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 Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Doosan Branding is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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 Doosan Branding 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Doosan Branding 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 Doosan Branding to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Doosan Branding can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Doosan Branding has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Doosan Branding to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) case study. Doosan Branding can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Doosan Branding can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Doosan Branding 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, Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Doosan Branding to increase its market reach. Doosan Branding 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.
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. Doosan Branding 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. Doosan Branding 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Doosan Branding 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Doosan Branding can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Doosan Branding can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Doosan Branding in the consumer business. Now Doosan Branding can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A), Doosan Branding 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Doosan Branding 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 Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) .
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. Doosan Branding needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Doosan Branding
– 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 Doosan Branding.
Environmental challenges
– Doosan Branding 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. Doosan Branding can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Doosan Branding can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Doosan Branding business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Doosan Branding has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Doosan Branding 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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Doosan Branding 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Doosan Branding 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 Doosan Branding 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
– Doosan Branding 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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 Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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 Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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 Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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 Doosan Infracore International: Portable Power Brand Transformation (A) 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 Doosan Branding needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.