B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal

Should B&K Distributors implement a Web-based customer portal with an integrated marketing campaign? Asks readers to assist Jim Anfield, business development director for JDA Consulting, and Nancy O'Neil, B&K Distributor's sales VP, in determining the feasibility of this project. They must build the final ROI projections and develop recommendations for B&K's senior management team. Emphasizes the importance of assumptions and the range of possible outcomes. Based on a real-life management decision for a mid-size firm.

Authors :: Mark Jeffery, James Anfield, Tim Riitters

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Financial management, Internet, Risk management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal" written by Mark Jeffery, James Anfield, Tim Riitters includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Portal Distributors facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Internet, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Portal Distributors, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Portal Distributors 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Portal Distributors
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 Portal Distributors

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Strengths B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Portal Distributors in B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal Harvard Business Review case study are -

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Portal Distributors 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 Finance & Accounting field

– Portal Distributors 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 Portal Distributors in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Learning organization

- Portal Distributors 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 Portal Distributors is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Portal Distributors has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Portal Distributors 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 Finance & Accounting industry

– B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Portal Distributors to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Portal Distributors to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Training and development

– Portal Distributors has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Portal Distributors digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Portal Distributors 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Portal Distributors 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Portal Distributors 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Portal Distributors is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

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Weaknesses B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal are -

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 Portal Distributors supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Portal Distributors vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Portal Distributors has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Portal Distributors 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Portal Distributors is planning to shift buying processes online.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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 Portal Distributors 's lucrative customers.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Portal Distributors is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Portal Distributors needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Portal Distributors to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Portal Distributors, firm in the HBR case study B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal HBR case study mentions - Portal Distributors 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal, is just above the industry average. Portal Distributors 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, Portal Distributors 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.

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Opportunities B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal | 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal are -

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Portal Distributors can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Portal Distributors operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Portal Distributors to increase its market reach. Portal Distributors 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Portal Distributors has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Portal Distributors to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal case study. Portal Distributors can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Portal Distributors 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Portal Distributors to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Portal Distributors is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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 Portal Distributors 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 Finance & Accounting segment.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Portal Distributors can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Loyalty marketing

– Portal Distributors 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.

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 Portal Distributors 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Portal Distributors can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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. Portal Distributors 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. Portal Distributors 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.

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 Portal Distributors in the consumer business. Now Portal Distributors 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, Portal Distributors 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.

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Threats B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal are -

Environmental challenges

– Portal Distributors 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. Portal Distributors can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Portal Distributors is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Portal Distributors has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Portal Distributors 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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Portal Distributors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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.

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. Portal Distributors 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.

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 Portal Distributors.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Portal Distributors 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.

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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Portal Distributors 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.

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 Portal Distributors business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Portal Distributors 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal .

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.

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 Portal Distributors in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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 B&K Distributors: Calculating Return on Investment for a Web-Based Customer Portal 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 Portal Distributors needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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