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Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A)


A large medical electronics firm is refining its outsourcing policies and the new ways in which it needs to work with its suppliers. The firm begins with an objective to purchase assemblies instead of components. This objective evolves until the supplier takes over a large part of the engineering design as well as the product database creation and maintenance. Many problems are encountered, but the product comes to market and is successful. A 1999 EFMD award winner.

Authors :: Thomas E. Vollmann, Denyse Julien, Carlos Cordon, Petri Lehtivaara

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Supply chain, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A)" written by Thomas E. Vollmann, Denyse Julien, Carlos Cordon, Petri Lehtivaara includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Outsourcing Objective facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A)


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Outsourcing Objective, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Outsourcing Objective 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Outsourcing Objective
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Outsourcing Objective




Strengths Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Outsourcing Objective in Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Training and development

– Outsourcing Objective has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Outsourcing Objective 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.

Organizational Resilience of Outsourcing Objective

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Outsourcing Objective does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Innovation driven organization

– Outsourcing Objective is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

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

Superior customer experience

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

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry

– Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Outsourcing Objective to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Outsourcing Objective to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Analytics focus

– Outsourcing Objective 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 Thomas E. Vollmann, Denyse Julien, Carlos Cordon, Petri Lehtivaara 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Outsourcing Objective is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Learning organization

- Outsourcing Objective 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 Outsourcing Objective is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Outsourcing Objective 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Outsourcing Objective has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Outsourcing Objective 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) are -

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A), is just above the industry average. Outsourcing Objective 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Outsourcing Objective is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Outsourcing Objective needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Outsourcing Objective to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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 Outsourcing Objective has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A), in the dynamic environment Outsourcing Objective has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Outsourcing Objective has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Lack of clear differentiation of Outsourcing Objective products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Outsourcing Objective needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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 Outsourcing Objective 's lucrative customers.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Outsourcing Objective is planning to shift buying processes online.

Need for greater diversity

– Outsourcing Objective 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Outsourcing Objective 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.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Outsourcing Objective, firm in the HBR case study Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.




Opportunities Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) | 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) are -

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 Outsourcing Objective 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, Outsourcing Objective can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Outsourcing Objective operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Outsourcing Objective is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

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

Manufacturing automation

– Outsourcing Objective can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Outsourcing Objective 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Outsourcing Objective 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. Outsourcing Objective 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.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Outsourcing Objective 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.

Developing new processes and practices

– Outsourcing Objective can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.

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 Outsourcing Objective in the consumer business. Now Outsourcing Objective 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 Outsourcing Objective has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Outsourcing Objective to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) case study. Outsourcing Objective can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Outsourcing Objective 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.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Outsourcing Objective 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 Technology & Operations segment.




Threats Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) are -

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Outsourcing Objective in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

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

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.

Regulatory challenges

– Outsourcing Objective 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.

Easy access to finance

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

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Outsourcing Objective 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.

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 Outsourcing Objective in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A), Outsourcing Objective may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .

Shortening product life cycle

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

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Outsourcing Objective has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Outsourcing Objective needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Outsourcing Objective 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) .

Environmental challenges

– Outsourcing Objective 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. Outsourcing Objective can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Outsourcing Objective 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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 Thomas Medical Systems Outsourcing Policy (Abridged) (A) 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 Outsourcing Objective needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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