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SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of

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Authors ::

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Topics ::

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Tags ::

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, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "

" written by includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and .

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the

casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of

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SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in

case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the , and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 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

can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in field.
4. Making a topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of

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Strengths

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| Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of

in Harvard Business Review case study are -

High brand equity

– has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Innovation driven organization

– is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in industry

– firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the industry. The sustainable margins have also helped to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Successful track record of launching new products

– has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. 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.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the 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

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

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of in the sector have low bargaining power. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Digital Transformation in segment

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

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Ability to lead change in field

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

Analytics focus

– is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Ability to recruit top talent

– is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

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Weaknesses

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| Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of

are -

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study 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 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as is planning to shift buying processes online.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, suggests that, 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study 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 's lucrative customers.

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 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - , it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study , is just above the industry average. 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 , it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the 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 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Products dominated business model

– Even though 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 - should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, 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. 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.

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Opportunities

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| 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

are -

Leveraging digital technologies

– 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.

Better consumer reach

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

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at 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 segment.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– 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 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, , to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, 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.

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 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.

Increase in government spending

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

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the case study. can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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Threats

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External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study

are -

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. needs to understand the core reasons impacting the industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Increasing wage structure of

– 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 .

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 .

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. 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Shortening product life cycle

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

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study , may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of .

Environmental challenges

– 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. can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the industry.

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 in the sector and impact the bottomline 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 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 .

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of

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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

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 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 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 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 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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