San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System
In 2008 San Francisco International Airport (known by its three-letter airport code, SFO) had announced a $383 million plan to renovate and reopen Terminal 2. Assistant deputy director of aviation security Kim Dickie and her team had selected Quantum Secure's SAFE software suite as the new Terminal 2 credentialing system, but she needed to develop a business case quickly that would convince senior management to give the green light to fund the purchase. The case describes a scenario that occurs frequently in the real world, in which a decision offers some real but qualitative value in ways that are difficult or impossible to quantify. The discussion and analysis gives students the opportunity to consider the factors that will drive the internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV), and discounted payback period calculations without constructing comprehensive spreadsheet models. Analyzing the case suggests the limits of such approaches in cases where perceived value is difficult to quantify. The case prepares students to evaluate and justify purchasing requests when interacting with financial gatekeepers such as CFOs and CEOs by introducing a framework to analyze the quantifiable benefits of a capital expenditure while keeping in mind important intangible benefits.
Swot Analysis of "San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System" written by Daniel Diermeier, Evan Meagher includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Secure's Airport facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, IT, Operations management, Public relations, Regulation and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Secure's Airport, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Secure's Airport 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Secure's Airport
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 Secure's Airport
Strengths San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Secure's Airport in San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Secure's Airport 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Secure's Airport digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Secure's Airport 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 lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Secure's Airport 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 Secure's Airport in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Secure's Airport has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Secure's Airport to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Secure's Airport is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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 Secure's Airport 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Analytics focus
– Secure's Airport 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 Daniel Diermeier, Evan Meagher 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Secure's Airport is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Secure's Airport are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Secure's Airport has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Secure's Airport 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.
Learning organization
- Secure's Airport 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 Secure's Airport is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Secure's Airport, firm in the HBR case study San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Secure's Airport 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. Secure's Airport 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Secure's Airport 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System, 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Secure's Airport 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 - San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Secure's Airport 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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 Secure's Airport has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System, it seems that the employees of Secure's Airport 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Secure's Airport is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Secure's Airport products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Secure's Airport needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Secure's Airport is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System | 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System are -
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. Secure's Airport 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. Secure's Airport 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Secure's Airport 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.
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 Secure's Airport in the consumer business. Now Secure's Airport can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Secure's Airport 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Secure's Airport to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Secure's Airport 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 Secure's Airport to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Secure's Airport has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Secure's Airport to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System case study. Secure's Airport can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Secure's Airport can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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.
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. Secure's Airport can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Secure's Airport has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Secure's Airport can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Secure's Airport 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, Secure's Airport is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Secure's Airport 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Secure's Airport 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.
Threats San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Secure's Airport is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Secure's Airport 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Secure's Airport 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.
Increasing wage structure of Secure's Airport
– 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 Secure's Airport.
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 Secure's Airport.
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 Secure's Airport in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Secure's Airport business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System, Secure's Airport 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 .
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. Secure's Airport needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Secure's Airport 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
– Secure's Airport 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. Secure's Airport can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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 San Francisco International Airport and Quantum Secure's SAFE for Aviation System 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 Secure's Airport needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.