Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A)
A fire is reported in a Black & Decker Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker. This newly introduced product is a "Key Introduction" for Black & Decker's Household Product Group (HPG). HPG's president has to decide whether the product should be recalled and, if so, how the recall should be implemented. Teaching objectives include: 1) managing a product recall, 2) ethical considerations in product safety and product recalls, and 3) the meaning of customer care.
Swot Analysis of "Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A)" written by N. Craig Smith includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Spacemaker Coffeemaker facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, Marketing, Personnel policies, Product development, Risk management and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Spacemaker Coffeemaker, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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 Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Spacemaker Coffeemaker
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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker
Strengths Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Spacemaker Coffeemaker in Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Spacemaker Coffeemaker
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Spacemaker Coffeemaker does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Spacemaker Coffeemaker digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Training and development
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Spacemaker Coffeemaker to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Spacemaker Coffeemaker to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
High brand equity
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Spacemaker Coffeemaker to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Spacemaker Coffeemaker in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Spacemaker Coffeemaker has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Spacemaker Coffeemaker vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Spacemaker Coffeemaker, firm in the HBR case study Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A), it seems that the employees of Spacemaker Coffeemaker don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, N. Craig Smith suggests that, Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A), is just above the industry average. Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Spacemaker Coffeemaker has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Spacemaker Coffeemaker even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A), in the dynamic environment Spacemaker Coffeemaker has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Spacemaker Coffeemaker has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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.
Opportunities Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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 Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) are -
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. Spacemaker Coffeemaker can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
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. Spacemaker Coffeemaker can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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, Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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.
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. Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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. Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker in the consumer business. Now Spacemaker Coffeemaker can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Spacemaker Coffeemaker can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Spacemaker Coffeemaker operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Spacemaker Coffeemaker has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Spacemaker Coffeemaker to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) case study. Spacemaker Coffeemaker can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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 Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) are -
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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Spacemaker Coffeemaker is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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. Spacemaker Coffeemaker can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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
– Spacemaker Coffeemaker has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
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. Spacemaker Coffeemaker can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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 Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A) .
Increasing wage structure of Spacemaker Coffeemaker
– 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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Spacemaker Coffeemaker 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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 Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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 Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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 Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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 Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (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 Spacemaker Coffeemaker needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.