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Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A)


Ten years into his career after graduating from HBS, Tim Hertach discovers billing irregularities at his consulting firm. He must decide whether (and how) to challenge senior management or to stay quiet and protect his career.

Authors :: Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Scot Landry

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Decision making, Ethics, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A)" written by Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Scot Landry includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hertach Tim facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Ethics and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A)


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hertach Tim, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hertach Tim 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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hertach Tim
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 Hertach Tim




Strengths Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Hertach Tim in Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Successful track record of launching new products

– Hertach Tim has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hertach Tim 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 Technology & Operations industry

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

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Hertach Tim 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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) - 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 Hertach Tim

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

High brand equity

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

Highly skilled collaborators

– Hertach Tim 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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Strong track record of project management

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

Diverse revenue streams

– Hertach Tim is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Hertach Tim 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.

Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment

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

Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field

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

Learning organization

- Hertach Tim 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 Hertach Tim is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.






Weaknesses Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) are -

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong, Scot Landry suggests that, Hertach Tim 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Hertach Tim products

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

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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 Hertach Tim has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Hertach Tim, firm in the HBR case study Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A), it seems that the employees of Hertach Tim don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Hertach Tim is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Hertach Tim 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Hertach Tim 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.

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

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A), in the dynamic environment Hertach Tim has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hertach Tim has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Hertach Tim 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.




Opportunities Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) are -

Leveraging digital technologies

– Hertach Tim 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.

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. Hertach Tim can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Low interest rates

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

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hertach Tim can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hertach Tim 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.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Hertach Tim can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Developing new processes and practices

– Hertach Tim 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Hertach Tim 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Hertach Tim 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.

Creating value in data economy

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

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hertach Tim 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, Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A), 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, Hertach Tim can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hertach Tim 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, Hertach Tim is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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.




Threats Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) 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. Hertach Tim needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Hertach Tim in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

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. Hertach Tim 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.

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

– Hertach Tim 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Hertach Tim 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.

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. Hertach Tim can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A), Hertach Tim 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 .

Consumer confidence and its impact on Hertach Tim 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hertach Tim 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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (A) .

Environmental challenges

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

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 Hertach Tim business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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 Tim Hertach at GL Consulting (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 Hertach Tim needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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