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 - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, 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 -
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.
Learning organization
- Program Clothes 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 Program Clothes is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Program Clothes 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 Mark Jeffery, Joseph F. Norton, Derek Yung, Alex Gershbeyn 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
High brand equity
– Program Clothes has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Program Clothes to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Program Clothes in the sector have low bargaining power. Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Program Clothes to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
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.
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.
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 -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Program Clothes 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Program Clothes 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 - Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Program Clothes is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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.
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.
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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs, in the dynamic environment Program Clothes has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Program Clothes has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Program Clothes is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Program Clothes needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Program Clothes to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
Manufacturing automation
– Program Clothes 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Program Clothes 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 Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Program Clothes to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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.
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.
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. Program Clothes can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Program Clothes 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.
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.
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.
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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Program Clothes 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Program Clothes 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.
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 -
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.
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. Program Clothes 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.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Program Clothes needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Program Clothes is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Clothes 'R' Us Point-of-Sale Initiative: Managing IT Programs, Program Clothes 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Program Clothes 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 Program Clothes in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
