The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury"
Until 2002, Roche's treasury activities were decentralized. Then a number of external factors resulted in the multinational company recording a loss of CHF5,192 million. Determined to build a more robust centralized treasury system, Roche conceptualized and implemented an in-house bank (IHB) coupled with cash pooling from its affiliates worldwide.
Authors :: Hong Zhang, Martin Schlageter, Shah Gourang, Anne Yang
Swot Analysis of "The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury"" written by Hong Zhang, Martin Schlageter, Shah Gourang, Anne Yang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Treasury Roche facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury"
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Treasury Roche, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Treasury Roche 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Treasury Roche
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Treasury Roche
Strengths The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Treasury Roche in The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Treasury Roche is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Treasury Roche to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Treasury Roche to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Treasury Roche is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Treasury Roche 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Treasury Roche is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Treasury Roche has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Treasury Roche 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.
Learning organization
- Treasury Roche 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 Treasury Roche is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Treasury Roche digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Treasury Roche 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.
Analytics focus
– Treasury Roche 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 Hong Zhang, Martin Schlageter, Shah Gourang, Anne Yang 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
– Treasury Roche has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Treasury Roche is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Treasury Roche 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Treasury Roche 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Treasury Roche is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Treasury Roche needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Treasury Roche to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Treasury Roche 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Hong Zhang, Martin Schlageter, Shah Gourang, Anne Yang suggests that, Treasury Roche 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Treasury Roche is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Treasury Roche 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
Treasury Roche 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury", it seems that the employees of Treasury Roche 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury", in the dynamic environment Treasury Roche has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Treasury Roche has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Treasury Roche, firm in the HBR case study The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Treasury Roche 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.
Opportunities The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" | 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Treasury Roche 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. Treasury Roche 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Treasury Roche 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 Treasury Roche to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Treasury Roche 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Treasury Roche can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Treasury Roche has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Treasury Roche to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" case study. Treasury Roche can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Treasury Roche 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, The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury", to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Treasury Roche is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Treasury Roche to increase its market reach. Treasury Roche 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Treasury Roche in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Treasury Roche 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.
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 Treasury Roche 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.
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. Treasury Roche can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Treasury Roche can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Threats The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" are -
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Treasury Roche in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Treasury Roche 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Treasury Roche 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Treasury Roche has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Treasury Roche needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Treasury Roche 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Treasury Roche with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Treasury Roche needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Environmental challenges
– Treasury Roche 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. Treasury Roche can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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
– Treasury Roche 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Treasury Roche
– 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 Treasury Roche.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Treasury Roche in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Treasury Roche 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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 The In-House Bank of Roche: "We Innovate Corporate Treasury" 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 Treasury Roche needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
