Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India
Flextronics, the world's largest contract manufacturing firm, made a strategic decision to expand its business to include original design and manufacturing (ODM) services. As an ODM supplier, Flextronics designed and built products that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) purchased and sold under their brand names. Purchasing from an ODM allowed OEMs to bring new products to market quickly and efficiently. ODMs could sell the same basic product to many OEMs, providing substantial design and manufacturing efficiencies. Flextronics' first ODM products were cellular phone handsets. The company had substantial hardware capabilities, which grew out of its contract manufacturing experience. In 2004, Flextronics considered adding software design expertise and considered a number of approaches to accomplish this. Having learned of the outstanding reputation of Indian software companies, the company's CEO and the president of its Design and OEM Services operation visited India. Describes the contract manufacturing and design landscape in 2004, with a focus on software.
Swot Analysis of "Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India" written by Chuck Holloway, David W. Hoyt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Flextronics Odm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Manufacturing, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Flextronics Odm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Flextronics Odm 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Flextronics Odm
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 Flextronics Odm
Strengths Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Flextronics Odm in Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Flextronics Odm is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Flextronics Odm is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Flextronics Odm 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Flextronics Odm 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 Flextronics Odm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Flextronics Odm
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Flextronics Odm does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Flextronics Odm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Flextronics Odm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Flextronics Odm 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Flextronics Odm 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Flextronics Odm is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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
– Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Flextronics Odm to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Flextronics Odm to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Flextronics Odm 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India, 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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 Flextronics Odm has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India, is just above the industry average. Flextronics Odm 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, Flextronics Odm is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India HBR case study mentions - Flextronics Odm 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 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 Flextronics Odm supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Flextronics Odm vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Flextronics Odm 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Flextronics Odm is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Flextronics Odm needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Flextronics Odm to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Flextronics Odm is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India, it seems that the employees of Flextronics Odm 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Flextronics Odm 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. Flextronics Odm 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.
Opportunities Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India | 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Flextronics Odm 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Flextronics Odm can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Flextronics Odm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Flextronics Odm to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India case study. Flextronics Odm can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Flextronics Odm in the consumer business. Now Flextronics Odm can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Flextronics Odm 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, Flextronics Odm 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, Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Flextronics Odm 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. Flextronics Odm 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 Flextronics Odm 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 Flextronics Odm to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Flextronics Odm is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Flextronics Odm 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Flextronics Odm can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Flextronics Odm 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Flextronics Odm can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Flextronics Odm operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India are -
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.
Environmental challenges
– Flextronics Odm 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. Flextronics Odm can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Flextronics Odm is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Flextronics Odm 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India, Flextronics Odm 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 .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Flextronics Odm 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.
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 Flextronics Odm in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Flextronics Odm 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Flextronics Odm with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Flextronics Odm needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Flextronics Odm business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Flextronics Odm 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Flextronics Odm has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Flextronics Odm 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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 Flextronics: A Focus on Design Leads to India 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 Flextronics Odm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
