Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Although additive manufacturing -also known as 3-D printing -was developed back in the 1980s, lately it has become increasingly talked about as managers look for ways to improve efficiency and reduce production costs. The appeal of additive manufacturing is its potential to reduce the need for expensive materials and energy, cut lead times, and make supply chains more efficient. Despite the promise of additive manufacturing, the authors argue, near-term expectations are overblown. Based on dozens of interviews, study of the literature on the history of materials and process technologies, industry meetings, and factory visits, they have identified three myths that need to be dispelled. The first myth is that additive manufacturing will allow producers to make parts of any complexity as easily and economically as parts that are manufactured in traditional ways (in other words, that it will make complexity "free"). The second myth is that additive manufacturing will prod manufacturing to become local. And the third myth is that additive manufacturing will allow producers to replace mass manufacturing with mass customization. In the authors'view, none of these expectations is likely to be realized in the next few decades. Although the authors say that additive manufacturing will make it easier to design lighter parts with complex geometries and internal cavities, they point to important drawbacks and restrictions. Knowing the parameters of what's possible to produce requires skills that are currently scarce. There are also safety and technical issues. Some of the safety concerns stem from the fact that the technology is new. Although many people are looking for additive manufacturing to bring manufacturing closer to markets and consumers, the authors believe that this scenario has been exaggerated, largely due to economies of scale. Despite expectations that additive manufacturing will bring a decisive shift from mass manufacturing to mass customization, the likelihood that change will occur quickly is slim, the authors say. What's more, they raise questions about how flexible additive manufacturing will be. In theory, a good 3-D printer should be capable of printing a wide range of designs. In practice, though, there may be regulations (particularly in safety-critical applications) about how equipment can be configured.
Authors :: Jaime Bonnin Roca, Parth Vaishnav, Joana Mendonca, M. Granger Morgan
Swot Analysis of "Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing" written by Jaime Bonnin Roca, Parth Vaishnav, Joana Mendonca, M. Granger Morgan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Additive Manufacturing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Personnel policies, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Additive Manufacturing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Additive Manufacturing 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 Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Additive Manufacturing
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 Additive Manufacturing
Strengths Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Additive Manufacturing in Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Additive Manufacturing 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 Additive Manufacturing in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Additive Manufacturing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Additive Manufacturing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Additive Manufacturing 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Additive Manufacturing has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Additive Manufacturing in the sector have low bargaining power. Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Additive Manufacturing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Additive Manufacturing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Additive Manufacturing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Additive Manufacturing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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
– Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Additive Manufacturing to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Additive Manufacturing to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Additive Manufacturing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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
– Additive Manufacturing is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Additive Manufacturing 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 Additive Manufacturing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Additive Manufacturing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing, in the dynamic environment Additive Manufacturing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Additive Manufacturing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Additive Manufacturing, firm in the HBR case study Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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 Additive Manufacturing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Additive Manufacturing supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Additive Manufacturing vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing, is just above the industry average. Additive Manufacturing needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Additive Manufacturing 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 - Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Additive Manufacturing products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Additive Manufacturing needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Additive Manufacturing 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Additive Manufacturing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Additive Manufacturing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Additive Manufacturing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Additive Manufacturing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing | 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 Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing are -
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Additive Manufacturing 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Additive Manufacturing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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.
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. Additive Manufacturing 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. Additive Manufacturing 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Additive Manufacturing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Additive Manufacturing operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Additive Manufacturing 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, Additive Manufacturing 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, Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Additive Manufacturing can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Additive Manufacturing to increase its market reach. Additive Manufacturing 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Additive Manufacturing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Additive Manufacturing 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Additive Manufacturing 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 Additive Manufacturing to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Additive Manufacturing is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Additive Manufacturing
– 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 Additive Manufacturing.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Additive Manufacturing 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 Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing .
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 Additive Manufacturing in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline 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 Additive Manufacturing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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. Additive Manufacturing 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Additive Manufacturing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Additive Manufacturing 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Additive Manufacturing 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Additive Manufacturing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing, Additive Manufacturing 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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 Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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 Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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 Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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 Getting Past the Hype About 3-D Printing 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 Additive Manufacturing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.