Case Study Description of DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation
What happens when a company is faced with a unique market challenge with the potential to change the way business is done--a true market disruption? This was the challenge faced by the European business team of DuPont's Tyvek Housewrap business. The adoption of the Kyoto Protocol created new challenges for the construction industry in the United Kingdom that the DuPont team felt it could meet. To enforce the Kyoto Protocol, the U.K. government threatened to fine utility companies and builders who did not adhere to new emissions standards. Deploys the Innovation Radar framework, which encourages a business to think through all the issues of a business system, leading to a successful introduction and a sustainable business. DuPont's European Tyvek team had to devise a solution at the intersection of multiple elements. Specifically: Who should it target? How should it describe the product's value proposition? Through what channels could it reach the key decision makers? How could it overcome the inertia of the existing business system?
Authors :: Mark Jeffery, Robert Cooper, Scott Buchanan
Swot Analysis of "DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation" written by Mark Jeffery, Robert Cooper, Scott Buchanan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Tyvek Dupont's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development, Sales, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Tyvek Dupont's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Tyvek Dupont's 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Tyvek Dupont's
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 Tyvek Dupont's
Strengths DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Tyvek Dupont's in DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Tyvek Dupont's 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Tyvek Dupont's has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Analytics focus
– Tyvek Dupont's 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 Mark Jeffery, Robert Cooper, Scott Buchanan 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)
– Tyvek Dupont's 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Tyvek Dupont's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Tyvek Dupont's 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 Tyvek Dupont's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Tyvek Dupont's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Tyvek Dupont's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Tyvek Dupont's 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Tyvek Dupont's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Tyvek Dupont's 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
– DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Tyvek Dupont's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Tyvek Dupont's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation are -
Need for greater diversity
– Tyvek Dupont's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Tyvek Dupont's, firm in the HBR case study DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Tyvek Dupont's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Tyvek Dupont's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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 Tyvek Dupont's 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Tyvek Dupont's 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Tyvek Dupont's 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. Tyvek Dupont's 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Tyvek Dupont's 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Tyvek Dupont's 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 - DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Tyvek Dupont's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Tyvek Dupont's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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 Tyvek Dupont's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation | 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation are -
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. Tyvek Dupont's 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. Tyvek Dupont's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Tyvek Dupont's 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Tyvek Dupont's 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, DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation, 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, Tyvek Dupont's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Tyvek Dupont's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Tyvek Dupont's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Tyvek Dupont's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Tyvek Dupont's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation case study. Tyvek Dupont's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Tyvek Dupont's 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Tyvek Dupont's 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.
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 Tyvek Dupont's in the consumer business. Now Tyvek Dupont's 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 Tyvek Dupont's 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 Tyvek Dupont's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Tyvek Dupont's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Tyvek Dupont's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Tyvek Dupont's 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Tyvek Dupont's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation are -
Increasing wage structure of Tyvek Dupont's
– 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 Tyvek Dupont's.
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 Tyvek Dupont's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Tyvek Dupont's 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Tyvek Dupont's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Tyvek Dupont's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Tyvek Dupont's 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. Tyvek Dupont's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Tyvek Dupont's is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Tyvek Dupont's 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.
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 Tyvek Dupont's.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Tyvek Dupont's 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation, Tyvek Dupont's 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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 DuPont Tyvek(R): Commercializing a Disruptive Innovation 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 Tyvek Dupont's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.