Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com
Rosenbluth, the third largest U.S. travel agency, uses the Internet to serve new customers with a high-service strategy. Rosenbluth acquires Biztravel.com and integrates the customer support and logistics aspects of service delivery.
Swot Analysis of "Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com" written by Roger Hallowell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Rosenbluth Biztravel.com facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Human resource management, Internet, Mergers & acquisitions, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Rosenbluth Biztravel.com, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Rosenbluth Biztravel.com
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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com
Strengths Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Rosenbluth Biztravel.com in Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 Roger Hallowell 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Rosenbluth Biztravel.com to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Rosenbluth Biztravel.com to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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.
Learning organization
- Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Rosenbluth Biztravel.com in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Rosenbluth Biztravel.com in the sector have low bargaining power. Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Rosenbluth Biztravel.com to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Rosenbluth Biztravel.com to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 - Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Rosenbluth Biztravel.com vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Rosenbluth Biztravel.com is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Rosenbluth Biztravel.com is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Rosenbluth Biztravel.com to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Rosenbluth Biztravel.com, firm in the HBR case study Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com | 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 Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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, Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
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. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Rosenbluth Biztravel.com can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
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. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Rosenbluth Biztravel.com can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Rosenbluth Biztravel.com operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Threats Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com.
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. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 wage structure of Rosenbluth Biztravel.com
– 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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com .
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. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Rosenbluth Biztravel.com with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Rosenbluth Biztravel.com needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Rosenbluth Biztravel.com is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Rosenbluth Biztravel.com 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth International and Biztravel.com 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 Rosenbluth Biztravel.com needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
