QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A)
ES Technologies started in 1976 as a storefront in Tempe, Arizona selling personal computer kits to hobbyists. Twenty years later, revenues exceeded $3.5 billion, and the business had evolved from a computer store to a master reseller and full-line integrator of information technology products. At the time of the case, the founder (who remains as CEO) must decide whether to reinvent the company yet again to become an online "orchestrator" for the information technology (IT) industry.
Swot Analysis of "QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A)" written by Lynda M. Applegate includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Orchestrator Hobbyists facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial management, IT and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Orchestrator Hobbyists, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Orchestrator Hobbyists
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 Orchestrator Hobbyists
Strengths QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Orchestrator Hobbyists in QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Orchestrator Hobbyists has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 Orchestrator Hobbyists in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Orchestrator Hobbyists to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Orchestrator Hobbyists to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Orchestrator Hobbyists has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 Lynda M. Applegate 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 Orchestrator Hobbyists
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Orchestrator Hobbyists does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Orchestrator Hobbyists is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Orchestrator Hobbyists in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 Orchestrator Hobbyists is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Orchestrator Hobbyists has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Orchestrator Hobbyists to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Orchestrator Hobbyists is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Orchestrator Hobbyists is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Orchestrator Hobbyists needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Orchestrator Hobbyists to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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 Orchestrator Hobbyists has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Lynda M. Applegate suggests that, Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A), in the dynamic environment Orchestrator Hobbyists has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Orchestrator Hobbyists has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A), is just above the industry average. Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Orchestrator Hobbyists has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Orchestrator Hobbyists is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) HBR case study mentions - Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Opportunities QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) | 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) are -
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 Orchestrator Hobbyists in the consumer business. Now Orchestrator Hobbyists can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Orchestrator Hobbyists to increase its market reach. Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Orchestrator Hobbyists 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, QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 Orchestrator Hobbyists to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Orchestrator Hobbyists is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Orchestrator Hobbyists to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Orchestrator Hobbyists can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
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. Orchestrator Hobbyists 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. Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Orchestrator Hobbyists can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 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.
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 Orchestrator Hobbyists in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Orchestrator Hobbyists 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. Orchestrator Hobbyists can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
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. Orchestrator Hobbyists needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Orchestrator Hobbyists 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
– Orchestrator Hobbyists has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
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. Orchestrator Hobbyists can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Orchestrator Hobbyists 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Orchestrator Hobbyists is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Orchestrator Hobbyists 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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 QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A) 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 Orchestrator Hobbyists needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
