Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
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.
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 transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
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 -
High brand equity
– Microscopy Zeiss has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Microscopy Zeiss to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
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.
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.
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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Microscopy Zeiss to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Microscopy Zeiss to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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.
Organizational Resilience of Microscopy Zeiss
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Microscopy Zeiss does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Microscopy Zeiss in the sector have low bargaining power. Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Microscopy Zeiss to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Microscopy Zeiss 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 Microscopy Zeiss in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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 -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Microscopy Zeiss 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption, in the dynamic environment Microscopy Zeiss has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Microscopy Zeiss has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Microscopy Zeiss 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. Microscopy Zeiss 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
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.
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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Microscopy Zeiss, firm in the HBR case study Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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.
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.
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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Microscopy Zeiss 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 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.
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 -
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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Microscopy Zeiss 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.
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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Microscopy Zeiss is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Microscopy Zeiss to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Loyalty marketing
– Microscopy Zeiss has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– 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.
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. Microscopy Zeiss can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption, Microscopy Zeiss 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 .
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Microscopy Zeiss with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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 Microscopy Zeiss business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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. Microscopy Zeiss can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 .
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.
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.
