The case "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (A)" completed in early 2010 described the strategic path of Beyondsoft over its history of more than 10 years since its foundation in 1995, containing its major business lines and the relations with the major customers at that time, the market environment faced by the company, competitive power of major rivalry players and Beyondsoft's own resources and capabilities, as well as the future objectives set by President Ben Wang for the company. The focus was put on the development strategy Beyondsoft should choose in the next 3-5 years, given its actual external business environment and internal business conditions. This case is an extension of case (A), focusing on the strategic path of Beyondsoft during 2010-2011, the market environment at the new historical moment faced by the company in early 2012, when Beyondsoft did its IPO, including the situations of major competitors and Beyondsoft's own resources and capabilities, as well as its bushiness adjustments and future objectives designed by Ben Wang and his top management team.
Authors :: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li, Hong Zhang
Swot Analysis of "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B" written by F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li, Hong Zhang includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Operations management, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's
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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's
Strengths Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's in Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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 F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li, Hong Zhang 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Organizational Resilience of Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Diverse revenue streams
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High brand equity
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B, in the dynamic environment Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B, is just above the industry average. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's, firm in the HBR case study Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B, it seems that the employees of Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Opportunities Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B | 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B case study. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's in the consumer business. Now Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's to increase its market reach. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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, Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B are -
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. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B .
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. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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.
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. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's 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. Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's.
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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B 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 Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. B 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 Beyondsoft Beyondsoft's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
