Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008)
This case examines the challenges Citibank is facing in implementing e-business strategies. The focus is on how Citibank has developed an e-business strategy that fits with its corporate business strategy. Citibank not only needs to use information technology to improve internal operations and provide more efficient customer services at lower costs, but it also needs to ensure that its single, global online platform can serve the highly segmented market. At one end of the spectrum of the market are multinationals and top-level domestic corporations that operate sophisticated treasuries, and at the other end are companies and small- and medium-sized businesses that are not yet ready to upgrade or transform their systems.
Swot Analysis of "Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008)" written by Ali Farhoomand, Minyi Huang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Citibank Treasuries facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Internet, IT, Operations management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Citibank Treasuries, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Citibank Treasuries 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Citibank Treasuries
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Citibank Treasuries
Strengths Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Citibank Treasuries in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Citibank Treasuries 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Citibank Treasuries is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Ali Farhoomand, Minyi Huang can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Citibank Treasuries 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Citibank Treasuries 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.
Learning organization
- Citibank Treasuries 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 Citibank Treasuries is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Citibank Treasuries to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Citibank Treasuries to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Citibank Treasuries in the sector have low bargaining power. Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Citibank Treasuries to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Citibank Treasuries
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Citibank Treasuries does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Citibank Treasuries is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Citibank Treasuries digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Citibank Treasuries 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Citibank Treasuries is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Citibank Treasuries is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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.
Weaknesses Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Citibank Treasuries products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Citibank Treasuries needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ali Farhoomand, Minyi Huang suggests that, Citibank Treasuries 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Citibank Treasuries 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Citibank Treasuries is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Citibank Treasuries needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Citibank Treasuries to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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 Citibank Treasuries 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) HBR case study mentions - Citibank Treasuries 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Citibank Treasuries 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008), it seems that the employees of Citibank Treasuries 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Citibank Treasuries is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Citibank Treasuries supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Citibank Treasuries vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Citibank Treasuries, firm in the HBR case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) | 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Citibank Treasuries can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Citibank Treasuries 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, Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Citibank Treasuries has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Citibank Treasuries to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) case study. Citibank Treasuries can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Citibank Treasuries 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 Citibank Treasuries to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Citibank Treasuries 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Citibank Treasuries 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 Citibank Treasuries 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
– Citibank Treasuries can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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.
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. Citibank Treasuries can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Citibank Treasuries can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Citibank Treasuries operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Citibank Treasuries 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. Citibank Treasuries 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
– Citibank Treasuries 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Citibank Treasuries to increase its market reach. Citibank Treasuries 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Citibank Treasuries in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Threats Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) are -
Environmental challenges
– Citibank Treasuries 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. Citibank Treasuries can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Citibank Treasuries 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
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 Citibank Treasuries business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Citibank Treasuries 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Citibank Treasuries is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Citibank Treasuries with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Citibank Treasuries.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Citibank Treasuries can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Citibank Treasuries 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.
Increasing wage structure of Citibank Treasuries
– 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 Citibank Treasuries.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Citibank Treasuries has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Citibank Treasuries needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
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 Citibank Treasuries in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Citibank Treasuries 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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 Citibank's e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking (2008) 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 Citibank Treasuries needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.