Case Study Description of BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project
When BellSouth Enterprises decided to aggressively pursue the international cellular market, it needed new software in order to cope with the complexities of cellular billing and the country-specific variations in the international cellular market. BellSouth made the decision to enter into a strategic alliance with TeleSciences. This case explores why it made this decision and what the ramifications of this decision were for BellSouth and TeleSciences.
Authors :: John J. Sviokla, Mark Keil, Steve Simonson
Swot Analysis of "BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project" written by John J. Sviokla, Mark Keil, Steve Simonson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bellsouth Cellular facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Marketing and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bellsouth Cellular, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bellsouth Cellular 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bellsouth Cellular
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 Bellsouth Cellular
Strengths BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bellsouth Cellular in BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bellsouth Cellular to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bellsouth Cellular to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bellsouth Cellular is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bellsouth Cellular in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bellsouth Cellular 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project - 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 Bellsouth Cellular
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bellsouth Cellular does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Bellsouth Cellular 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 John J. Sviokla, Mark Keil, Steve Simonson can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Bellsouth Cellular 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 Bellsouth Cellular in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bellsouth Cellular is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Bellsouth Cellular is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bellsouth Cellular has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Learning organization
- Bellsouth Cellular 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 Bellsouth Cellular is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bellsouth Cellular is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Bellsouth Cellular needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bellsouth Cellular to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bellsouth Cellular 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project, it seems that the employees of Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bellsouth Cellular 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project, 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bellsouth Cellular is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bellsouth Cellular 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 - BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bellsouth Cellular, firm in the HBR case study BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, John J. Sviokla, Mark Keil, Steve Simonson suggests that, Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Opportunities BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project | 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project are -
Buying journey improvements
– Bellsouth Cellular can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bellsouth Cellular 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 Bellsouth Cellular to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bellsouth Cellular can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Bellsouth Cellular can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bellsouth Cellular 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bellsouth Cellular to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Bellsouth Cellular 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. Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bellsouth Cellular to increase its market reach. Bellsouth Cellular 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.
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 Bellsouth Cellular in the consumer business. Now Bellsouth Cellular can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bellsouth Cellular 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. Bellsouth Cellular can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bellsouth Cellular is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Increasing wage structure of Bellsouth Cellular
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Bellsouth Cellular.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bellsouth Cellular 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project .
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project, Bellsouth Cellular 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bellsouth Cellular 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bellsouth Cellular 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bellsouth Cellular 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.
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 Bellsouth Cellular.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bellsouth Cellular has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bellsouth Cellular 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.
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 Bellsouth Cellular 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. Bellsouth Cellular needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project 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 BellSouth Enterprises: The Cellular Billing Project 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 Bellsouth Cellular needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.