Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce
Over the last five years, a variety of market mechanisms have emerged to address various issues pertaining to business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. However, there is a general lack of understanding on the part of researchers and practitioners on two key issues: What are the key characteristics of these market mechanisms? What factors drive the choice of one market mechanism over the other? Addresses these questions through a study of 12 different market mechanisms in 200 B2B electronic marketplaces. Four factors--degree of fragmentation, asset specificity, complexity of product description, and complexity of value assessment--significantly drive the choice of an appropriate market mechanism for an organization. To gainfully exploit these market structures, organizations need to devise new strategies and reconfigure their supply chains.
Swot Analysis of "Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce" written by B. Mahadevan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that B2b Mechanisms facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial markets, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce casestudy better are - – there is backlash against globalization, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the B2b Mechanisms, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which B2b Mechanisms 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of B2b Mechanisms
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 B2b Mechanisms
Strengths Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of B2b Mechanisms in Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of B2b Mechanisms in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– B2b Mechanisms is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– B2b Mechanisms is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of B2b Mechanisms
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that B2b Mechanisms does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– B2b Mechanisms 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
– B2b Mechanisms has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled B2b Mechanisms to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that B2b Mechanisms 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.
Analytics focus
– B2b Mechanisms 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 B. Mahadevan 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– B2b Mechanisms is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Training and development
– B2b Mechanisms has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– B2b Mechanisms 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of B2b Mechanisms in the sector have low bargaining power. Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps B2b Mechanisms to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, B2b Mechanisms is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of B2b Mechanisms is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. B2b Mechanisms needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help B2b Mechanisms to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though B2b Mechanisms 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 - Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, B2b Mechanisms 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. B2b Mechanisms 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, B2b Mechanisms 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at B2b Mechanisms has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of B2b Mechanisms products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, B2b Mechanisms needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– B2b Mechanisms 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce, it seems that the employees of B2b Mechanisms 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, B2b Mechanisms 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce HBR case study mentions - B2b Mechanisms 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce | 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, B2b Mechanisms 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, Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help B2b Mechanisms to increase its market reach. B2b Mechanisms 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– B2b Mechanisms 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help B2b Mechanisms to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help B2b Mechanisms to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Buying journey improvements
– B2b Mechanisms can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, B2b Mechanisms can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that B2b Mechanisms operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for B2b Mechanisms 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 B2b Mechanisms to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for B2b Mechanisms 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– B2b Mechanisms 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.
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. B2b Mechanisms can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. B2b Mechanisms can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– B2b Mechanisms 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.
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. B2b Mechanisms 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. B2b Mechanisms 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.
Threats Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce are -
Increasing wage structure of B2b Mechanisms
– 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 B2b Mechanisms.
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 B2b Mechanisms in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– B2b Mechanisms 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– B2b Mechanisms 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.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– B2b Mechanisms has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, B2b Mechanisms 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.
Environmental challenges
– B2b Mechanisms 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. B2b Mechanisms can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 B2b Mechanisms.
Consumer confidence and its impact on B2b Mechanisms 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
– B2b Mechanisms 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, B2b Mechanisms 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce .
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. B2b Mechanisms can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce 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 Making Sense of Emerging Market Structures in B2B E-Commerce 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 B2b Mechanisms needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
