Case Study Description of i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally
i-flex is a unique illustration of an Indian software product company that emerged from an ecosystem dominated by software services firms. The case comprises two parts. The first part, set in late 2005, describes the company's evolution into a global market leader in the banking software industry ending with its acquisition by Oracle. The second part of the case, set in 2015, provides an update on the evolution of the company in the 10 years since its acquisition by Oracle.
Swot Analysis of "i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally" written by J Ramachandran, Pranav Garg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Flex Oracle facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Flex Oracle, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Flex Oracle 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Flex Oracle
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 Flex Oracle
Strengths i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Flex Oracle in i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Flex Oracle 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 Flex Oracle is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Flex Oracle digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Flex Oracle 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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)
– Flex Oracle 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Flex Oracle 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Flex Oracle 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 Flex Oracle in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Flex Oracle has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Flex Oracle 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Flex Oracle has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Flex Oracle 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.
High brand equity
– Flex Oracle has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Flex Oracle to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Flex Oracle in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Flex Oracle is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally, is just above the industry average. Flex Oracle 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Flex Oracle 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Flex Oracle is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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 Flex Oracle 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Flex Oracle, firm in the HBR case study i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Flex Oracle is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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 Flex Oracle supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Flex Oracle vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Flex Oracle 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Flex Oracle has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally HBR case study mentions - Flex Oracle 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.
Opportunities i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally | 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally are -
Manufacturing automation
– Flex Oracle 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. Flex Oracle can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Flex Oracle 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.
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. Flex Oracle 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. Flex Oracle 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Flex Oracle 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Flex Oracle can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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.
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 Flex Oracle in the consumer business. Now Flex Oracle can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Flex Oracle can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Flex Oracle 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Flex Oracle to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Flex Oracle 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Flex Oracle 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Flex Oracle 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Flex Oracle can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Flex Oracle operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Flex Oracle is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Flex Oracle has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Flex Oracle 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Flex Oracle 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally, Flex Oracle 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 .
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.
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. Flex Oracle needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Flex Oracle.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Flex Oracle 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.
Environmental challenges
– Flex Oracle 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. Flex Oracle can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Flex Oracle 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.
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 Flex Oracle business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Flex Oracle with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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 i-flex solutions limited (A): Winning Unconventionally 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 Flex Oracle needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.