Case Study Description of 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market
ESPE, the market leader, is a medium-sized German manufacturer of precision dental impression materials competing in a shrinking market. To grow the business, ESPE invests substantial resources in innovative impression materials and associated distribution mechanisms. Squeezed by the shrinking market, the competition is increasingly using the proprietary channels (dispensing mechanisms) and brand equity (trademark) of ESPE to maintain their market share. There is a potential infringement. Explores how ESPE is organized to execute on the options imbedded in its IP rights.
Authors :: James G. Conley, Susan Deutsch, James Fields, Richard Wong
Swot Analysis of "3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market" written by James G. Conley, Susan Deutsch, James Fields, Richard Wong includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Espe Impression facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Marketing, Product development, Strategy, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Espe Impression, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Espe Impression 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Espe Impression
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 Espe Impression
Strengths 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Espe Impression in 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Espe Impression 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 Espe Impression in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Espe Impression 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Espe Impression is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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
– Espe Impression is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Espe Impression has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Espe Impression is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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 Strategy & Execution industry
– 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Espe Impression to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Espe Impression to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Espe Impression 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Espe Impression in the sector have low bargaining power. 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Espe Impression to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Espe Impression 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Espe Impression in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market, in the dynamic environment Espe Impression has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Espe Impression 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Espe Impression 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Espe Impression 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. Espe Impression 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market HBR case study mentions - Espe Impression takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Espe Impression 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Espe Impression 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Espe Impression 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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 Espe Impression has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Espe Impression is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Espe Impression needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Espe Impression to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, James G. Conley, Susan Deutsch, James Fields, Richard Wong suggests that, Espe Impression 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.
Opportunities 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market | 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Espe Impression is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Espe Impression 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 Espe Impression to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Espe Impression in the consumer business. Now Espe Impression can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Espe Impression 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Espe Impression can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Buying journey improvements
– Espe Impression can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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.
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. Espe Impression 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. Espe Impression 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Espe Impression can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Espe Impression 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Espe Impression 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Espe Impression can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Espe Impression operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Espe Impression 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Espe Impression has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Espe Impression to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market case study. Espe Impression can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Espe Impression 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.
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. Espe Impression 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 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Espe Impression with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market, Espe Impression 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 Espe Impression in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Espe Impression 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Espe Impression 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.
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. Espe Impression needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Espe Impression has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Espe Impression 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.
Increasing wage structure of Espe Impression
– 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 Espe Impression.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Espe Impression 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.
Environmental challenges
– Espe Impression 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. Espe Impression can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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 3M ESPE AG: Managing Intellectual Property in the Dental Impression Materials Market 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 Espe Impression needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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