Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy
The general manager of an engineering solutions department at Robert Bosch Engineering India, a subsidiary of a major German supplier of automotive components, must expand his department from captive to non-captive (i.e., non-Bosch) business and grow rapidly. He believes that non-linear growth is feasible if he leverages competencies and talent built over the years within his division. He faces complex strategy execution challenges, including challenges related to funding, sales and marketing and the existing captive-oriented culture, in shifting from a captive to non-captive mode of business for growth. The automotive ecosystem, within India and abroad, is rapidly changing with its focus on high technology and offers opportunities while also posing threats. At the same time, senior management's expectations for the general manager are high. He must decide whether to focus more on the development of non-linear products/services or on captive jobs in order to meet his firm's revenue goal. He could also adopt a hybrid approach.
Swot Analysis of "Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy" written by Sonia Mehrotra, U. Srinivasa Rangan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Captive Bosch facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption,
increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Captive Bosch, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Captive Bosch 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 Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Captive Bosch
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 Captive Bosch
Strengths Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Captive Bosch in Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Captive Bosch in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Captive Bosch 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.
High brand equity
– Captive Bosch has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Captive Bosch to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Captive Bosch 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 Sonia Mehrotra, U. Srinivasa Rangan 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Captive Bosch 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 Captive Bosch in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Captive Bosch is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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
– Captive Bosch is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Captive Bosch is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Captive Bosch 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 Captive Bosch is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Captive Bosch in the sector have low bargaining power. Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Captive Bosch to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Captive Bosch to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Captive Bosch to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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.
Weaknesses Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy, is just above the industry average. Captive Bosch 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Captive Bosch is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Captive Bosch supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Captive Bosch vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy HBR case study mentions - Captive Bosch 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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 Captive Bosch has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Captive Bosch 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Captive Bosch 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 Captive Bosch products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Captive Bosch needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Captive Bosch 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 - Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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 Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Captive Bosch is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Captive Bosch 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.
Opportunities Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy | 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 Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Captive Bosch has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Captive Bosch to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy case study. Captive Bosch can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Captive Bosch can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Captive Bosch 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. Captive Bosch 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Captive Bosch 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 Captive Bosch to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Captive Bosch can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Captive Bosch 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, Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Captive Bosch 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Captive Bosch 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.
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 Captive Bosch 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Captive Bosch to increase its market reach. Captive Bosch 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.
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 Captive Bosch in the consumer business. Now Captive Bosch can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Captive Bosch 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Captive Bosch 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.
Threats Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy are -
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. Captive Bosch can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Captive Bosch needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Captive Bosch is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Captive Bosch 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, Captive Bosch 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 Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Captive Bosch 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.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Captive Bosch 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. Captive Bosch can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Captive Bosch 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Captive Bosch has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Captive Bosch 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.
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. Captive Bosch 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.
Increasing wage structure of Captive Bosch
– 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 Captive Bosch.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy, Captive Bosch 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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 Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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 Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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 Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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 Robert Bosch Engineering India: Plotting a Growth Strategy 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 Captive Bosch needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
