Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure
Bharti Infratel, a telecom tower company provides shared telecom infrastructure to mobile operators in India. It is a spin off from Bharti Airtel, India's largest leading mobile services operator. Bharti Infratel partnered with its rivals, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, to form a joint venture, Indus Towers, to pool and share the three companies' tower assets. The managing director of Bharti Infratel's parent group, Bharti Enterprises must decide if he should merge Bharti Infratel with Indus Towers.
Authors :: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Prashant Salwan, Tanya Bijlani, Rachna Tahilyani
Swot Analysis of "Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure" written by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Prashant Salwan, Tanya Bijlani, Rachna Tahilyani includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bharti Infratel facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures, Mergers & acquisitions, Mobile and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bharti Infratel, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bharti Infratel 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bharti Infratel
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 Bharti Infratel
Strengths Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bharti Infratel in Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bharti Infratel has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bharti Infratel 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bharti Infratel
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bharti Infratel does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bharti Infratel digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bharti Infratel 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bharti Infratel 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Bharti Infratel 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 Bharti Infratel is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bharti Infratel 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bharti Infratel to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bharti Infratel to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bharti Infratel is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 brand equity
– Bharti Infratel has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bharti Infratel to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bharti Infratel 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bharti Infratel 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bharti Infratel is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Bharti Infratel needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bharti Infratel to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bharti Infratel is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bharti Infratel is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure HBR case study mentions - Bharti Infratel 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bharti Infratel products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bharti Infratel needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure, is just above the industry average. Bharti Infratel 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bharti Infratel 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bharti Infratel 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bharti Infratel 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. Bharti Infratel 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Bharti Infratel 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure | 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bharti Infratel can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bharti Infratel operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bharti Infratel can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Bharti Infratel 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.
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. Bharti Infratel can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bharti Infratel is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 Bharti Infratel 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bharti Infratel can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Bharti Infratel to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Buying journey improvements
– Bharti Infratel can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bharti Infratel to increase its market reach. Bharti Infratel 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bharti Infratel has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bharti Infratel to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure case study. Bharti Infratel can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bharti Infratel 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, Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Bharti Infratel 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.
Threats Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure, Bharti Infratel 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Bharti Infratel 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.
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. Bharti Infratel can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Bharti Infratel
– 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 Bharti Infratel.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bharti Infratel 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bharti Infratel 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bharti Infratel has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bharti Infratel 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.
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 Bharti Infratel.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bharti Infratel with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Bharti Infratel 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. Bharti Infratel can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Bharti Infratel in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 Bharti Infratel: Unlocking Value in Mobile Infrastructure 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 Bharti Infratel needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
