Case Study Description of Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances
Aegis Analytical Corporation was founded in 1995 by Gretchen L. Jahn and Justin O. Neway to provide process manufacturing software and consulting services to pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers. Aegis developed a software program that quickly compiles disparate data into a single report. Within minutes, the program develops reports on drug tests and manufacturing quality that previously might take months to compile. With a target market of large pharmaceutical manufacturers, Aegis knew it faced a challenge of getting "in the door" of these companies and of convincing them that Aegis and its software would be around for awhile. To help with the marketing, Aegis formed two alliances with two companies that manufactured and sold complementary products to pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. While there were advantages to partnering with these divisions of Honeywell and Rockwell, most notably the visibility and credibility that these big names offered, many disadvantages developed. Most important is that Aegis's product was just one of many that Honeywell or Rockwell would promote. While there were incentives in place to encourage Honeywell and Rockwell to promote Aegis's product, after a year neither strategic alliance had resulted in a sale of Aegis's software. Aegis's founders were faced with the decisions of whether they should continue with either or both of the alliances. If they chose to continue the alliances, what could they as a small company do to encourage their much larger partners to promote the Aegis product? If they chose to terminate the alliances, can they rely only upon their internal sales staff to adequately promote and sell their product? What would be the effect on their reputation by no longer partnering with Rockwell or Honeywell? Another option might be to attempt to set up new alliances? If so, what steps should they take to increase the probability of success?
Swot Analysis of "Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances" written by Paul M. Olk, Joan Winn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Aegis Aegis's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Venture capital and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aegis Aegis's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aegis Aegis's operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aegis Aegis's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Aegis Aegis's
Strengths Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Aegis Aegis's in Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Aegis Aegis's is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Aegis Aegis's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Aegis Aegis's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Aegis Aegis's is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Paul M. Olk, Joan Winn 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.
Learning organization
- Aegis Aegis's 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 Aegis Aegis's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Aegis Aegis's are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Aegis Aegis's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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.
High brand equity
– Aegis Aegis's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Aegis Aegis's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Aegis Aegis's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Aegis Aegis's 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Aegis Aegis's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Aegis Aegis's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Aegis Aegis's has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances, 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances HBR case study mentions - Aegis Aegis's 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Paul M. Olk, Joan Winn suggests that, Aegis Aegis's 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Aegis Aegis's 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.
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 Aegis Aegis's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Aegis Aegis's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances, it seems that the employees of Aegis Aegis's 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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 Aegis Aegis's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Aegis Aegis's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Aegis Aegis's 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Aegis Aegis's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Aegis Aegis's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Aegis Aegis's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances | 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 Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances are -
Manufacturing automation
– Aegis Aegis's 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Aegis Aegis's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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.
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. Aegis Aegis's can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Aegis Aegis's can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Aegis Aegis's has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Aegis Aegis's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Aegis Aegis's can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Aegis Aegis's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Aegis Aegis's 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.
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 Aegis Aegis's in the consumer business. Now Aegis Aegis's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Aegis Aegis's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Aegis Aegis's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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.
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. Aegis Aegis's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Aegis Aegis's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Aegis Aegis's 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 Aegis Aegis's to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Threats Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Aegis Aegis's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Aegis Aegis's
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Aegis Aegis's.
Regulatory challenges
– Aegis Aegis's 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances, Aegis Aegis's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Aegis Aegis's in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Environmental challenges
– Aegis Aegis's needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Aegis Aegis's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Aegis Aegis's demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
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. Aegis Aegis's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Aegis Aegis's can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances .
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. Aegis Aegis's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Aegis Aegis's 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.
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 Aegis Aegis's.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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 Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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 Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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 Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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 Aegis Analytical Corporation's Strategic Alliances 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 Aegis Aegis's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.