X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A)
Three years after launching his brick-and-mortar store, X Fire Paintball and Airsoft, Steve Herbert Sr. and his sons began selling products on Amazon.com's third-party Marketplace and online sales expanded rapidly. Over time, X Fire noticed that products of which it had once been the only seller were now being sold by Amazon straight from X Fire's suppliers, effectively cutting X Fire out. Amazon was also ignoring the minimum advertised price (MAP) set by manufacturers. How should X Fire defend itself? Now Amazon representatives were approaching X Fire to encourage them to sell on Amazon's smaller but growing Canadian Marketplace. How should X Fire respond to this opportunity?
Swot Analysis of "X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A)" written by Feng Zhu, Angela Acocella includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Fire Amazon facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Ethics, IT, Operations management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Fire Amazon, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Fire Amazon 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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Fire Amazon
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 Fire Amazon
Strengths X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Fire Amazon in X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Fire Amazon is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Fire Amazon is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) 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.
Learning organization
- Fire Amazon 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 Fire Amazon is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Fire Amazon 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Fire Amazon 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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Fire Amazon
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Fire Amazon does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Fire Amazon is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Fire Amazon has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Fire Amazon has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Fire Amazon 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.
High brand equity
– Fire Amazon has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Fire Amazon to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Fire Amazon 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.
Weaknesses X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Fire Amazon 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 - X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) HBR case study mentions - Fire Amazon 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Fire Amazon is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Fire Amazon needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Fire Amazon to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Fire Amazon 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Fire Amazon 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) 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 Fire Amazon 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Fire Amazon 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Feng Zhu, Angela Acocella suggests that, Fire Amazon 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Fire Amazon 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 dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Fire Amazon supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Fire Amazon vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Fire Amazon can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Fire Amazon operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Fire Amazon 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Fire Amazon 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Fire Amazon 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 Fire Amazon to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Fire Amazon 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Fire Amazon to increase its market reach. Fire Amazon 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Fire Amazon 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.
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 Fire Amazon 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Fire Amazon has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Fire Amazon to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) case study. Fire Amazon can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Fire Amazon 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Fire Amazon can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Fire Amazon is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Fire Amazon 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, X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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.
Threats X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A), Fire Amazon 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 .
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 Fire Amazon.
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. Fire Amazon needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Fire Amazon 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, Fire Amazon 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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A) .
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 Fire Amazon business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Fire Amazon with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Fire Amazon has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Fire Amazon 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Fire Amazon 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Fire Amazon 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.
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 Fire Amazon in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Fire Amazon 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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (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 Fire Amazon needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.