High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything?
Dave Butler, the CEO of Universal Pipe, Inc. (UPI), a producer of PVC pipe, had to decide whether to acquiesce and let the Japanese parent company that owned UPI file for bankruptcy as part of UPI's sale to a private equity firm or to find an alternate solution. If the sale were to go forward UPI would probably be liquidated and all personnel would be dismissed. Butler considered this to be immoral and he pondered buying the company himself. This was risky because the economy was not doing well; the company had been performing poorly until most recently and carried a large debt load. Very little time was left and rumors about the impending bankruptcy were flying. The case describes the industry, its key material PVC and the producers of PVC resin; the mode of competition in the pipe industry and the checkered past of the company due to poor decisions by prior top management. This forms the basis for developing a proposal to the current owners; formulating a post-acquisition strategy and related forecast of future performance should the current CEO go ahead and prevail with a risky acquisition.
Swot Analysis of "High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything?" written by Arieh A Ullmann includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Upi Pipe facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Corporate governance, Decision making, Knowledge management and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Upi Pipe, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Upi Pipe 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Upi Pipe
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 Upi Pipe
Strengths High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Upi Pipe in High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Upi Pipe is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Upi Pipe 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Upi Pipe is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Upi Pipe has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Upi Pipe 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Upi Pipe in the sector have low bargaining power. High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Upi Pipe to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Upi Pipe 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Upi Pipe has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Upi Pipe to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Upi Pipe are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Upi Pipe 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 Upi Pipe in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Upi Pipe 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 Arieh A Ullmann 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
– Upi Pipe 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything?, in the dynamic environment Upi Pipe has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Upi Pipe has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? HBR case study mentions - Upi Pipe 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Upi Pipe is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Upi Pipe needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Upi Pipe to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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 Upi Pipe supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Upi Pipe vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Upi Pipe is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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 Upi Pipe 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Upi Pipe, firm in the HBR case study High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Upi Pipe 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Upi Pipe 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. Upi Pipe 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Upi Pipe 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Upi Pipe 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.
Opportunities High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? | 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Upi Pipe is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Upi Pipe 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 Upi Pipe 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.
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 Upi Pipe in the consumer business. Now Upi Pipe can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Upi Pipe 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. Upi Pipe 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Upi Pipe 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Upi Pipe 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Upi Pipe can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Upi Pipe operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Upi Pipe 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Upi Pipe to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Upi Pipe 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Upi Pipe 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Upi Pipe 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 Upi Pipe to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Upi Pipe can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Threats High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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. Upi Pipe 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 Upi Pipe
– 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 Upi Pipe.
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 Upi Pipe.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Upi Pipe is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Upi Pipe 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. Upi Pipe can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Upi Pipe has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Upi Pipe 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Upi Pipe 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Upi Pipe 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.
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. Upi Pipe 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Upi Pipe 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Upi Pipe 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Upi Pipe with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Upi Pipe needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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 High Noon at Universal Pipe: Sell Out or Risk Everything? 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 Upi Pipe needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
