Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure
The case describes the formation of Indus Towers, the largest telecom tower company in the world which has a joint venture created to build and manage the passive infrastructure of wireless telecom operators by bringing together three competitors in India's tough telecom market-Bharti AirteI, Vodafone Essar, and Idea Cellular-and merging their tower holdings. It focuses on the issue as to how do you collaborate with your competitors in setting up towers but engage in a brutal competition with them in the market place?
Swot Analysis of "Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure" written by Ranjay Gulati, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan, Rachna Tahilyani includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Towers Indus facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Joint ventures and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Towers Indus, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Towers Indus 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Towers Indus
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 Towers Indus
Strengths Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Towers Indus in Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Towers Indus to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Towers Indus to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Towers Indus 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 Towers Indus is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Towers Indus is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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 Towers Indus
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Towers Indus does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Towers Indus in the sector have low bargaining power. Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Towers Indus to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Towers Indus digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Towers Indus 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
– Towers Indus 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Towers Indus 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure - 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
– Towers Indus has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Towers Indus to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Towers Indus 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Towers Indus has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Towers Indus 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.
Weaknesses Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Towers Indus is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Towers Indus 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Towers Indus 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 - Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Towers Indus 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure HBR case study mentions - Towers Indus 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Towers Indus 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. Towers Indus 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Towers Indus is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Towers Indus needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Towers Indus to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure, in the dynamic environment Towers Indus has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Towers Indus has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure, is just above the industry average. Towers Indus needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Towers Indus 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Towers Indus 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.
Opportunities Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure | 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Towers Indus 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 Towers Indus 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Towers Indus can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Towers Indus in the consumer business. Now Towers Indus can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Towers Indus has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Towers Indus to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure case study. Towers Indus 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
– Towers Indus 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Towers Indus to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Towers Indus can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Towers Indus can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Towers Indus can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Towers Indus operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Towers Indus 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Towers Indus to increase its market reach. Towers Indus 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.
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. Towers Indus 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. Towers Indus 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Towers Indus is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Towers Indus 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Towers Indus with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Towers Indus 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 Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Towers Indus 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. Towers Indus can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Increasing wage structure of Towers Indus
– 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 Towers Indus.
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 Towers Indus 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, Towers Indus 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Towers Indus 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.
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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Towers Indus 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure, Towers Indus may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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 Towers Indus.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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 Indus Towers: Collaborating with Competitors on Infrastructure 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 Towers Indus needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.