Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A)
This case is designed to allow two integration teams, each representing one of two very different companies, to construct a joint post-acquisition-integration plan: Titan Products, Inc., a large, publicly traded, North American multinational (approximately $3 billion in annual sales); and Franz Schuler GMBH, a smaller, family-owned and -operated European company (approximately $500 million in annual sales). Some of the issues addressed by this role-play case include (1) organization of Schuler, (2) staffing of management positions, (3) joint-distribution channels, (4) resolution of culture conflicts, (5) focus of strategic and operational decisions, and (6) performance metrics for assessing the success of the acquisition. The role-play requires about 60 minutes of team preparation, 30 minutes of negotiation, and a normal class session (85 minutes) to debrief. The instructions and assignment questions for the case are self-contained.
Swot Analysis of "Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A)" written by Dan Watson, William G. Bowen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Schuler Minutes facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Cross-cultural management, Mergers & acquisitions, Organizational structure and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Schuler Minutes, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Schuler Minutes 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 Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Schuler Minutes
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Schuler Minutes
Strengths Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Schuler Minutes in Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Schuler Minutes 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 Schuler Minutes is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Schuler Minutes 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 Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Schuler Minutes 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Schuler Minutes is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Schuler Minutes 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 Schuler Minutes in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Schuler Minutes has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Schuler Minutes 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) 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.
Training and development
– Schuler Minutes has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Schuler Minutes in the sector have low bargaining power. Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Schuler Minutes to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Schuler Minutes in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Schuler Minutes
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Schuler Minutes does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Schuler Minutes to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Schuler Minutes to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Schuler Minutes 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. Schuler Minutes 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Schuler Minutes products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Schuler Minutes needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A), it seems that the employees of Schuler Minutes 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Schuler Minutes 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 - Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Schuler Minutes 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) 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 Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Schuler Minutes is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Schuler Minutes 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Schuler Minutes is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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 Schuler Minutes 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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 Schuler Minutes has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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 Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Schuler Minutes is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Schuler Minutes in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Schuler Minutes can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Schuler Minutes 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Schuler Minutes can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Schuler Minutes 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. Schuler Minutes 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 Schuler Minutes in the consumer business. Now Schuler Minutes can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Schuler Minutes 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 Schuler Minutes to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Schuler Minutes 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Schuler Minutes can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Schuler Minutes to increase its market reach. Schuler Minutes 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Schuler Minutes 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Schuler Minutes has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Schuler Minutes to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A) are -
Environmental challenges
– Schuler Minutes 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. Schuler Minutes can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Schuler Minutes 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (A), Schuler Minutes may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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 Schuler Minutes in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Schuler Minutes.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Schuler Minutes 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Schuler Minutes 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Schuler Minutes with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Schuler Minutes has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Schuler Minutes needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Schuler Minutes in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Schuler Minutes can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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 Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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 Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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 Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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 Titan Products, Inc.: Acquisition of Franz Schuler GMBH (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 Schuler Minutes needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.