Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up
A young Aboriginal entrepreneur faces three major challenges to growing his lifestyle apparel business. First, he has been unable to find a trusted partner who is both competent and passionate about the venture. Second, he is spread thinly across the multiple roles involved with running and growing the business. Third, he has not yet fully tested any of the proposed business models to determine whether they will require considerable investment or abandonment. The entrepreneur lacks the time and space to think strategically about his best course of action. The case challenges students to evaluate his company's business model and performance and to chart a successful strategy for the future, considering the dual perspectives of being a solo entrepreneur and an Aboriginal businessperson.
Authors :: Peter Moroz, Simon Parker, Edward Gamble
Swot Analysis of "Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up" written by Peter Moroz, Simon Parker, Edward Gamble includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Aboriginal Entrepreneur facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
technology disruption, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aboriginal Entrepreneur, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aboriginal Entrepreneur
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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur
Strengths Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Aboriginal Entrepreneur in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Aboriginal Entrepreneur in the sector have low bargaining power. Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Aboriginal Entrepreneur to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Aboriginal Entrepreneur digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 Peter Moroz, Simon Parker, Edward Gamble 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.
Organizational Resilience of Aboriginal Entrepreneur
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Aboriginal Entrepreneur does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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.
High brand equity
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Aboriginal Entrepreneur to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up are -
Need for greater diversity
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Aboriginal Entrepreneur products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Aboriginal Entrepreneur needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up HBR case study mentions - Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Aboriginal Entrepreneur, firm in the HBR case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Aboriginal Entrepreneur is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up, 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur 's lucrative 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Aboriginal Entrepreneur vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up, is just above the industry average. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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
Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up, in the dynamic environment Aboriginal Entrepreneur has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Aboriginal Entrepreneur has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up | 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up are -
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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Aboriginal Entrepreneur to increase its market reach. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur in the consumer business. Now Aboriginal Entrepreneur can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Aboriginal Entrepreneur can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Aboriginal Entrepreneur has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Aboriginal Entrepreneur to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up case study. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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, Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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, Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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, Aboriginal Entrepreneur is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Aboriginal Entrepreneur can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up are -
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
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. Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up, Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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 acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Aboriginal Entrepreneur has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Aboriginal Entrepreneur 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.
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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Aboriginal Entrepreneur is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Neechie Gear: Pivoting in an Aboriginal Start-up 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 Aboriginal Entrepreneur needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.