BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video
Chris Bangle describes how BMW is trying to reduce its development time by half with the aid of computer-aided technologies. To leverage these technologies in the very competitive automotive industry, he talks about how BMW is faced with the challenges of changing its processes and organization and to gradually building new development capabilities.
Swot Analysis of "BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video" written by Stefan Thomke includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bmw Bangle facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Design, Product development and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bmw Bangle, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bmw Bangle 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bmw Bangle
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 Bmw Bangle
Strengths BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bmw Bangle in BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Bmw Bangle is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bmw Bangle digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bmw Bangle 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bmw Bangle 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bmw Bangle has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bmw Bangle 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bmw Bangle is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bmw Bangle to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bmw Bangle to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bmw Bangle in the sector have low bargaining power. BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bmw Bangle to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Bmw Bangle 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 Stefan Thomke 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bmw Bangle 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bmw Bangle in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Bmw Bangle
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bmw Bangle does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bmw Bangle 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. Bmw Bangle 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bmw Bangle 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video HBR case study mentions - Bmw Bangle 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video, 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bmw Bangle 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bmw Bangle products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bmw Bangle needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bmw Bangle is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Bmw Bangle supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bmw Bangle vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video, it seems that the employees of Bmw Bangle 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bmw Bangle 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 Bmw Bangle, firm in the HBR case study BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video | 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video are -
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. Bmw Bangle can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Bmw Bangle in the consumer business. Now Bmw Bangle can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bmw Bangle 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bmw Bangle to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bmw Bangle is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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 Bmw Bangle 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bmw Bangle 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
– Bmw Bangle 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
– Bmw Bangle 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.
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. Bmw Bangle 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. Bmw Bangle 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bmw Bangle can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bmw Bangle operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bmw Bangle 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bmw Bangle 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bmw Bangle 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.
Threats BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bmw Bangle 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bmw Bangle 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bmw Bangle 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bmw Bangle 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.
Environmental challenges
– Bmw Bangle 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. Bmw Bangle can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video, Bmw Bangle 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 .
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.
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 Bmw Bangle business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Bmw Bangle needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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. Bmw Bangle 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bmw Bangle 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 Bmw Bangle in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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 BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project, An Interview with Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design, Video 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 Bmw Bangle needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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