Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B)
Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (CSSC), a 50-year-old spring manufacturing and metal stamping firm, is experiencing slow sales growth and feeling the impact of global competition. The company has over 800 customers but little understanding of those customers' needs. They must improve manufacturing efficiency and respond to customer demands for higher quality, lower cost, and shorter delivery lead times. The company has a rich history of trying many management fads and now is exploring different methods of achieving higher quality. Andy Youmans, executive vice president responsible for this quality initiative, is contacted by the Toyota Supplier Support Center (TSSC), a world leader in manufacturing methodology, who offers to educate the CSSC plant in the Toyota Production System (TPS). Although short-term improvements are made, quality and delivery times worsen. It seems employees do not understand the reasons behind the new production methods, and Youmans is concerned about how to transfer what he has learned. The TSSC consultants suggest that Youmans go to Japan to visit companies that are practicing TPS principles.
Authors :: H. Kent Bowen, Massimo Russo, Steven J. Spear
Swot Analysis of "Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B)" written by H. Kent Bowen, Massimo Russo, Steven J. Spear includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Youmans Stamping facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Developing employees, Globalization, Manufacturing, Product development, Sales and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Youmans Stamping, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Youmans Stamping 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 Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Youmans Stamping
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 Youmans Stamping
Strengths Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Youmans Stamping in Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Youmans Stamping has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Youmans Stamping is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Youmans Stamping 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Youmans Stamping 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 Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Youmans Stamping has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Youmans Stamping to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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.
Analytics focus
– Youmans Stamping 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 H. Kent Bowen, Massimo Russo, Steven J. Spear 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.
Organizational Resilience of Youmans Stamping
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Youmans Stamping does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Youmans Stamping in the sector have low bargaining power. Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Youmans Stamping to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Youmans Stamping 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.
Learning organization
- Youmans Stamping 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 Youmans Stamping is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Youmans Stamping digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Youmans Stamping has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B), 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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 Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Youmans Stamping is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Youmans Stamping needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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 Youmans Stamping has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Youmans Stamping 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. Youmans Stamping 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.
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 Youmans Stamping supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Youmans Stamping vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B), in the dynamic environment Youmans Stamping has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Youmans Stamping has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) HBR case study mentions - Youmans Stamping 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Youmans Stamping is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Youmans Stamping needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Youmans Stamping to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B), it seems that the employees of Youmans Stamping don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, H. Kent Bowen, Massimo Russo, Steven J. Spear suggests that, Youmans Stamping 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.
Opportunities Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) | 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 Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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. Youmans Stamping can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Youmans Stamping 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Youmans Stamping 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 Youmans Stamping to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Youmans Stamping has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Youmans Stamping to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) case study. Youmans Stamping can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Youmans Stamping 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Youmans Stamping is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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.
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. Youmans Stamping can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Loyalty marketing
– Youmans Stamping 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Youmans Stamping can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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, Youmans Stamping 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 Youmans Stamping 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.
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. Youmans Stamping 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. Youmans Stamping can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Youmans Stamping can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Youmans Stamping operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Threats Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) are -
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 Youmans Stamping business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Youmans Stamping demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Regulatory challenges
– Youmans Stamping needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Youmans Stamping 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. Youmans Stamping can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Youmans Stamping with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Youmans Stamping.
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. Youmans Stamping can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Youmans Stamping 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 Youmans Stamping
– 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 Youmans Stamping.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Youmans Stamping has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Youmans Stamping 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Youmans Stamping 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Youmans Stamping is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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 Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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 Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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 Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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 Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (B) 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 Youmans Stamping needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.