Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video

Anders Byriel, CEO of the family-owned Danish textiles company, Kvadrat, and Mads NygA?rd, SVP of Strategy & Organization at Kvadrat, discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by the company. They elaborate on areas covered in the case including: 1.) Asia; 2.) Soft Cells; 3.) Retail; 4.) People & Culture; 5.) Organizational Structure; 6.) Evolution of Kvadrat; 7.) Data Analytics; 8.) Conversation-Driven Company; 9.) Managing Growth; 10.) Products

Authors :: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Business processes, Human resource management, Leadership, Manufacturing, Organizational culture, Strategy, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video" written by Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kvadrat Byriel facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business processes, Human resource management, Leadership, Manufacturing, Organizational culture, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kvadrat Byriel, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kvadrat Byriel 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kvadrat Byriel
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 Kvadrat Byriel

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Strengths Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Kvadrat Byriel in Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video Harvard Business Review case study are -

Learning organization

- Kvadrat Byriel 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 Kvadrat Byriel is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High brand equity

– Kvadrat Byriel has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kvadrat Byriel to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Kvadrat Byriel 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 Kvadrat Byriel in the sector have low bargaining power. Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kvadrat Byriel to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field

– Kvadrat Byriel 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 Kvadrat Byriel in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Kvadrat Byriel 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Kvadrat Byriel in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– Kvadrat Byriel is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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.

Analytics focus

– Kvadrat Byriel 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 Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott 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)

– Kvadrat Byriel 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Training and development

– Kvadrat Byriel has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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.

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Weaknesses Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video are -

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video, it seems that the employees of Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kvadrat Byriel is planning to shift buying processes online.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Kvadrat Byriel 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Kvadrat Byriel 's lucrative customers.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video, is just above the industry average. Kvadrat Byriel needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Kvadrat Byriel 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 - Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Kvadrat Byriel 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. Kvadrat Byriel even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Kvadrat Byriel has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

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 Kvadrat Byriel supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kvadrat Byriel vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

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Opportunities Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video | 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video are -

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Kvadrat Byriel has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kvadrat Byriel to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video case study. Kvadrat Byriel can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kvadrat Byriel 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 Kvadrat Byriel to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Kvadrat Byriel 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kvadrat Byriel to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kvadrat Byriel 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, Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kvadrat Byriel to increase its market reach. Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Kvadrat Byriel 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.

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 Kvadrat Byriel in the consumer business. Now Kvadrat Byriel 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 Kvadrat Byriel 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. Kvadrat Byriel can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kvadrat Byriel can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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Threats Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video are -

Regulatory challenges

– Kvadrat Byriel 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.

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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kvadrat Byriel 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video .

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.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Kvadrat Byriel is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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 Kvadrat Byriel.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kvadrat Byriel with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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. Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video, Kvadrat Byriel 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 .

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kvadrat Byriel 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.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Kvadrat Byriel has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kvadrat Byriel 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.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygard: Kvadrat, Video 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 Kvadrat Byriel needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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