Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box?
In late 2013, Bloomberg LP, the financial information powerhouse, was challenged by a competing messaging service owned by a consortium of banks, many of whom were Bloomberg's customers. This development came when growth was slowing and news was emerging that Bloomberg's business practices may have compromised the privacy of its customers. Did these events serve to open fissures in the company's ability to maintain industry dominance? This case asks students to consider Bloomberg's business model and the industry's competitive landscape to assess the company's market position.
Swot Analysis of "Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box?" written by Jonathan Knee, Miklos Sarvary includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bloomberg's Lp facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial markets, IT, Marketing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bloomberg's Lp, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bloomberg's Lp 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bloomberg's Lp
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 Bloomberg's Lp
Strengths Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bloomberg's Lp in Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Bloomberg's Lp has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bloomberg's Lp to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bloomberg's Lp is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bloomberg's Lp digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bloomberg's Lp is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bloomberg's Lp
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bloomberg's Lp does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bloomberg's Lp in the sector have low bargaining power. Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bloomberg's Lp to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bloomberg's Lp in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Bloomberg's Lp is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bloomberg's Lp 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bloomberg's Lp has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bloomberg's Lp has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Innovation driven organization
– Bloomberg's Lp is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bloomberg's Lp 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. Bloomberg's Lp 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.
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 Bloomberg's Lp supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bloomberg's Lp vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Bloomberg's Lp 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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 Bloomberg's Lp 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box?, is just above the industry average. Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bloomberg's Lp is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jonathan Knee, Miklos Sarvary suggests that, Bloomberg's Lp is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? HBR case study mentions - Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bloomberg's Lp is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Bloomberg's Lp needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bloomberg's Lp to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? | 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bloomberg's Lp 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bloomberg's Lp to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bloomberg's Lp can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bloomberg's Lp has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bloomberg's Lp to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? case study. Bloomberg's Lp can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Bloomberg's Lp can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bloomberg's Lp in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Bloomberg's Lp in the consumer business. Now Bloomberg's Lp can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bloomberg's Lp 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, Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Bloomberg's Lp can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Threats Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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. Bloomberg's Lp 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 Bloomberg's Lp
– 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 Bloomberg's Lp.
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
– Bloomberg's Lp 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. Bloomberg's Lp can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bloomberg's Lp with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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 Bloomberg's Lp business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box?, Bloomberg's Lp 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
– Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bloomberg's Lp 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bloomberg's Lp 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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 Bloomberg LP - More Than the Box? 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 Bloomberg's Lp needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
