Case Study Description of Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue
The case describes Microsoft's first significant acquisition in Europe and its first in the telecom equipment (software) market. SendIt is a publicly listed Swedish start-up, which offers the only Windows based solutions to the IP-based mobile phone services market. The acquisition starts in high tone, loses momentum and is finally integrated with some degree of success.
Swot Analysis of "Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue" written by Maurizio Zollo includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sendit Microsoft's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial analysis, Mergers & acquisitions, Negotiations and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sendit Microsoft's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sendit Microsoft'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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sendit Microsoft'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 Sendit Microsoft's
Strengths Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sendit Microsoft's in Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Sendit Microsoft's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Sendit Microsoft's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sendit Microsoft's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Sendit Microsoft's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sendit Microsoft's 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Sendit Microsoft'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 Sendit Microsoft's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Sendit Microsoft's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Sendit Microsoft's 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 Sendit Microsoft's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sendit Microsoft's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sendit Microsoft's 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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sendit Microsoft's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sendit Microsoft'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.
Training and development
– Sendit Microsoft's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sendit Microsoft's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sendit Microsoft's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sendit Microsoft's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue, in the dynamic environment Sendit Microsoft's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Sendit Microsoft's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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 Sendit Microsoft's 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sendit Microsoft's, firm in the HBR case study Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sendit Microsoft'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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue HBR case study mentions - Sendit Microsoft's 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sendit Microsoft's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sendit Microsoft's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sendit Microsoft'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 - Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Sendit Microsoft's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Sendit Microsoft's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sendit Microsoft's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Sendit Microsoft's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sendit Microsoft's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue | 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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sendit Microsoft'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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sendit Microsoft's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Sendit Microsoft's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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.
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. Sendit Microsoft's 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. Sendit Microsoft's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Sendit Microsoft's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sendit Microsoft's 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.
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 Sendit Microsoft'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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Sendit Microsoft's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sendit Microsoft's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sendit Microsoft's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sendit Microsoft's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue case study. Sendit Microsoft's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Sendit Microsoft'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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sendit Microsoft'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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sendit Microsoft's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sendit Microsoft's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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.
Threats Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue are -
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. Sendit Microsoft'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.
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.
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 Sendit Microsoft's 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, Sendit Microsoft'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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sendit Microsoft's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sendit Microsoft'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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Sendit Microsoft'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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sendit Microsoft'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.
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 Sendit Microsoft's.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sendit Microsoft's 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.
Environmental challenges
– Sendit Microsoft'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. Sendit Microsoft's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue, Sendit Microsoft's 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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 Microsoft's Acquisition of Sendit (E): Epilogue 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 Sendit Microsoft's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.