Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture
When Blindstogo.com, the online project of Blinds To Go (BTG), was first proposed in mid-1999 its board of directors was lukewarm to the idea. However, after six months of operation and seeing other retailers go online and the tremendous valuation being given to dot-coms, the board was encouraging BTG to devote more resources to the project. Plans were already in place to further expand their retail store network. Senior management at BTG had received sales, spending and survey results from their retail e-commerce venture. Data obtained from the web site indicated that the people who visited the site were the same people who visited the stores. The vice-chairman of BTG wanted to evaluate the results of this online venture by examining the fit of the e-commerce project within the overall business strategy, to determine where resources should be focused.
Swot Analysis of "Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture" written by Michael R. Pearce, Ken Mark includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Btg Blindstogo.com facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Btg Blindstogo.com, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Btg Blindstogo.com 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Btg Blindstogo.com
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 Btg Blindstogo.com
Strengths Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Btg Blindstogo.com in Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Btg Blindstogo.com in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Btg Blindstogo.com is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Btg Blindstogo.com 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Btg Blindstogo.com is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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 brand equity
– Btg Blindstogo.com has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Btg Blindstogo.com to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Btg Blindstogo.com 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 Btg Blindstogo.com in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Btg Blindstogo.com is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Learning organization
- Btg Blindstogo.com 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 Btg Blindstogo.com is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Training and development
– Btg Blindstogo.com has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Btg Blindstogo.com in the sector have low bargaining power. Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Btg Blindstogo.com to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Btg Blindstogo.com 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. Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Btg Blindstogo.com 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 - Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Btg Blindstogo.com supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Btg Blindstogo.com vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Btg Blindstogo.com is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Btg Blindstogo.com has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Michael R. Pearce, Ken Mark suggests that, Btg Blindstogo.com is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Btg Blindstogo.com has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture, is just above the industry average. Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture, 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.
Opportunities Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture | 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Btg Blindstogo.com has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Btg Blindstogo.com to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture case study. Btg Blindstogo.com can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Btg Blindstogo.com can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Btg Blindstogo.com can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Btg Blindstogo.com operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Btg Blindstogo.com can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Btg Blindstogo.com can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Btg Blindstogo.com 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Btg Blindstogo.com to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
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. Btg Blindstogo.com can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Btg Blindstogo.com is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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.
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 Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Threats Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture are -
Environmental challenges
– Btg Blindstogo.com 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. Btg Blindstogo.com 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture, Btg Blindstogo.com 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 .
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. Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Btg Blindstogo.com is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Btg Blindstogo.com business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Btg Blindstogo.com needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Btg Blindstogo.com 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Btg Blindstogo.com has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Btg Blindstogo.com 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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 Blinds To Go: Evaluating the Blindstogo.com Retail E-Commerce Venture 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 Btg Blindstogo.com needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.