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Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption


Ulrich Simon, the head of the Microscopy business group at Carl Zeiss AG knew that his unit was facing a disruptive threat, so he chartered a special team to tackle the industrial segment. Given a high degree of autonomy, the project team developed an understanding of the marketplace challenge and proceeded to develop and execute on a new business plan. Simon gave the team ample freedom to develop new processes and priorities appropriate to the market segment needs, but he couldn't help but wonder whether it would continue as a stand-alone unit or he would need to reintegrate it into the mainline business. He also was nervous about the plan itself. The team had established timelines and milestones, but now they had to execute and deliver thjeir first product next year.

Authors :: Willy Shih

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Disruptive innovation, Marketing, Product development, Supply chain, Technology, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption" written by Willy Shih includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Microscopy Zeiss facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Disruptive innovation, Marketing, Product development, Supply chain, Technology and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Microscopy Zeiss, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Microscopy Zeiss 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Microscopy Zeiss
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 Microscopy Zeiss




Strengths Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Microscopy Zeiss in Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– Microscopy Zeiss is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Microscopy Zeiss 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Learning organization

- Microscopy Zeiss 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 Microscopy Zeiss is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Analytics focus

– Microscopy Zeiss 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 Willy Shih 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Training and development

– Microscopy Zeiss has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Microscopy Zeiss 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Microscopy Zeiss has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Microscopy Zeiss in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Innovation driven organization

– Microscopy Zeiss is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Strong track record of project management

– Microscopy Zeiss is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Microscopy Zeiss digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Microscopy Zeiss has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.






Weaknesses Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption are -

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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 Microscopy Zeiss 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 Microscopy Zeiss supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Microscopy Zeiss vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Microscopy Zeiss 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Microscopy Zeiss is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption HBR case study mentions - Microscopy Zeiss 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Microscopy Zeiss 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 - Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption, 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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 Microscopy Zeiss 's lucrative customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Microscopy Zeiss products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Microscopy Zeiss needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.




Opportunities Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption | 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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. Microscopy Zeiss 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. Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Microscopy Zeiss to increase its market reach. Microscopy Zeiss will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Microscopy Zeiss has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Microscopy Zeiss to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption case study. Microscopy Zeiss can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Microscopy Zeiss 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Microscopy Zeiss to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

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 Microscopy Zeiss in the consumer business. Now Microscopy Zeiss 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 Microscopy Zeiss 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 Microscopy Zeiss to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Microscopy Zeiss 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 Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Microscopy Zeiss can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Microscopy Zeiss can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Microscopy Zeiss operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.




Threats Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption are -

Trade war between China and United States

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

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 Microscopy Zeiss in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Microscopy Zeiss 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption .

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 Microscopy Zeiss.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Microscopy Zeiss 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

– Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Microscopy Zeiss 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.

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 Microscopy Zeiss is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

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. Microscopy Zeiss 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.

Environmental challenges

– Microscopy Zeiss 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. Microscopy Zeiss can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Microscopy Zeiss 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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 Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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 Microscopy Zeiss needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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