Case Study Description of Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations
Nissan's resilience strategy had been considered an exemplary response to the triple disaster in Japan in March 2011. The Japanese automobile industry made their respective recovery efforts to resume production and delivery of vehicles after suffering damage from an earthquake, tsunami, and a nuclear crisis, but it took months before they could reach pre-disaster levels of operations. Nissan's resilience practices and supply chain disruption management were acknowledged as superior to those of their peers and were appreciated by experts and analysts. Nonetheless, it took Nissan more than a month to resume production, and each day of lost production cost Nissan $25 million. Shikha Aggarwal is affiliated with Management Development Institute. Manoj Kumar Srivastava is affiliated with Management Development Institute.
Swot Analysis of "Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations" written by Shikha Aggarwal, Manoj Kumar Srivastava includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Nissan Resume facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Leadership, Manufacturing, Risk management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Nissan Resume, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Nissan Resume 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Nissan Resume
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 Nissan Resume
Strengths Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Nissan Resume in Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Nissan Resume in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Nissan Resume is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Nissan Resume is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Nissan Resume is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Nissan Resume in the sector have low bargaining power. Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Nissan Resume to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Nissan Resume
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Nissan Resume does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Nissan Resume are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Nissan Resume 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 Nissan Resume is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Nissan Resume 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Nissan Resume to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Nissan Resume to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Nissan Resume 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Nissan Resume is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Nissan Resume needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Nissan Resume to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations HBR case study mentions - Nissan Resume 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Nissan Resume 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 - Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations, 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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 Nissan Resume has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Nissan Resume is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations, in the dynamic environment Nissan Resume has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Nissan Resume 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
Nissan Resume 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations, it seems that the employees of Nissan Resume 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Nissan Resume is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Nissan Resume products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Nissan Resume needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations | 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Nissan Resume 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Nissan Resume to increase its market reach. Nissan Resume 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Nissan Resume 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
– Nissan Resume 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Nissan Resume 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Nissan Resume to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Nissan Resume 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Nissan Resume 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. Nissan Resume 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. Nissan Resume 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Nissan Resume 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.
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. Nissan Resume can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Nissan Resume is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Nissan Resume has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Nissan Resume to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations case study. Nissan Resume can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Nissan Resume can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations are -
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 Nissan Resume.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Nissan Resume 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.
Environmental challenges
– Nissan Resume 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. Nissan Resume can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Increasing wage structure of Nissan Resume
– 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 Nissan Resume.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Nissan Resume is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Nissan Resume 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.
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 Nissan Resume in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Nissan Resume 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Nissan Resume has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Nissan Resume 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Nissan Resume with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Nissan Resume 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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 Nissan: Recovering Supply Chain Operations 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 Nissan Resume needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
