Case Study Description of Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B)
Supplement for W14069 Author Marina Apaydin and Leila Khauli are affiliated with American University of Beirut. Author Hend Mostafa is affiliated with American University of Cairo.
Swot Analysis of "Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B)" written by Marina Apaydin, Hend Mostafa, Leila Khauli includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that W14069 Khauli facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the W14069 Khauli, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which W14069 Khauli 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of W14069 Khauli
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 W14069 Khauli
Strengths Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of W14069 Khauli in Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of W14069 Khauli in the sector have low bargaining power. Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps W14069 Khauli to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of W14069 Khauli in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– W14069 Khauli is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– W14069 Khauli is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– W14069 Khauli 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of W14069 Khauli
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that W14069 Khauli 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
– W14069 Khauli has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. W14069 Khauli 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled W14069 Khauli to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped W14069 Khauli to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– W14069 Khauli 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 Marina Apaydin, Hend Mostafa, Leila Khauli 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the W14069 Khauli 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that W14069 Khauli has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at W14069 Khauli 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as W14069 Khauli is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of W14069 Khauli products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, W14069 Khauli needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, W14069 Khauli 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.
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 W14069 Khauli supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left W14069 Khauli vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, W14069 Khauli 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. W14069 Khauli 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of W14069 Khauli, firm in the HBR case study Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
W14069 Khauli 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though W14069 Khauli 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 - Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B), is just above the industry average. W14069 Khauli 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) HBR case study mentions - W14069 Khauli 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.
Opportunities Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) | 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) are -
Developing new processes and practices
– W14069 Khauli 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for W14069 Khauli in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, W14069 Khauli 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for W14069 Khauli 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 W14069 Khauli to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– W14069 Khauli 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, W14069 Khauli is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) 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.
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. W14069 Khauli can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. W14069 Khauli 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. W14069 Khauli 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, W14069 Khauli 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, Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, W14069 Khauli can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that W14069 Khauli operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for W14069 Khauli 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of W14069 Khauli has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help W14069 Khauli to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) case study. W14069 Khauli can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help W14069 Khauli to increase its market reach. W14069 Khauli 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.
Threats Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. W14069 Khauli 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 W14069 Khauli is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents W14069 Khauli with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– W14069 Khauli high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Environmental challenges
– W14069 Khauli 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. W14069 Khauli 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B), W14069 Khauli 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– W14069 Khauli 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– W14069 Khauli has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, W14069 Khauli 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.
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. W14069 Khauli 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.
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 W14069 Khauli business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 W14069 Khauli.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) 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 Azza Fahmy Jewellery: Going Online Post Revolution (B) 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 W14069 Khauli needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.