Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs
The case concerns a real $25 million program consisting of nine concurrent projects to deliver and implement a custom-built in-store customer relationship management (CRM) system and a new point-of-sale system in 400 stores of a national retail chain. The name of the company has been disguised for confidentiality reasons. Once deployed, the new system should give Clothes 'R' Us a significant strategic advantage over competitors in the marketplace; it will increase in-store manager productivity, cut costs, and ultimately drive increased sales for the retail chain. The program is in crisis, however, because the product managers have just left to join a competitor. The explicit details of the program are given, including examples of best practice program governance and the real activity network diagram for the program. Detailed Excel spreadsheets are also provided with the actual earned value data for the program. Students analyze the spreadsheets and the data given in the case to diagnose the impact of the most recent risk event and past risk events that occurred in the program. Ultimately students must answer the essential executive questions: What is wrong with the program? How should it be fixed, and what is the impact in time and money to the program? In addition, qualitative warning signs are given throughout the case-these warning signs are red flags to executives for early proactive intervention in troubled projects.
Authors :: Mark Jeffery, Joseph F. Norton, Derek Yung, Alex Gershbeyn
Swot Analysis of "Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs" written by Mark Jeffery, Joseph F. Norton, Derek Yung, Alex Gershbeyn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Program Clothes facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT, Operations management, Project management, Risk management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Program Clothes, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Program Clothes 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Program Clothes
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 Program Clothes
Strengths Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Program Clothes in Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Program Clothes digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Program Clothes 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Program Clothes is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Program Clothes 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Program Clothes has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Program Clothes 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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.
Training and development
– Program Clothes has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Program Clothes 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 Program Clothes in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Program Clothes 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Program Clothes to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Program Clothes to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Program Clothes in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Program Clothes is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Program Clothes
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Program Clothes does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Program Clothes is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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 Program Clothes has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs, 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Program Clothes, firm in the HBR case study Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Program Clothes 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Program Clothes 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs HBR case study mentions - Program Clothes 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Program Clothes 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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 Program Clothes 's lucrative customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Program Clothes products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Program Clothes needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Program Clothes 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. Program Clothes 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.
Opportunities Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs | 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Program Clothes is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Program Clothes can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Program Clothes operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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. Program Clothes can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Program Clothes 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Program Clothes in the consumer business. Now Program Clothes can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Program Clothes 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.
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. Program Clothes 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. Program Clothes 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Program Clothes 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Program Clothes can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Buying journey improvements
– Program Clothes can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Program Clothes 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, Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Program Clothes has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Program Clothes to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs case study. Program Clothes can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Program Clothes 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 Program Clothes to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Program Clothes 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Program Clothes 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
– Program Clothes has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Program Clothes 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Program Clothes 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Program Clothes 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 Program Clothes 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 Program Clothes.
Increasing wage structure of Program Clothes
– 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 Program Clothes.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Program Clothes is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Program Clothes 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.
Environmental challenges
– Program Clothes 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. Program Clothes can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Program Clothes business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs 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 Program Clothes needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.