Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management
Procurement has grown up. It is now a strategic business function that increasingly recognizes the importance of strategic supplier relationships, a reflection of key account management. Assesses the impact of this shift on the profession and practice of account management. Examines customer adoption of strategic procurement and discusses the implications for account managers at the suppliers serving these customers. New techniques are emerging in these special relationships, including the use of psychological contracts and co-measurement and monitoring. Perceived fairness will also have a major impact on the customer's view of their suppliers. Account managers must recognize these changes or fall victim to supplier delusion: the belief that they are performing better than they really are.
Authors :: Lynette J. Ryals, Brian Rogers, Beth Rogers
Swot Analysis of "Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management" written by Lynette J. Ryals, Brian Rogers, Beth Rogers includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Account Procurement facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Account Procurement, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Account Procurement 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Account Procurement
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 Account Procurement
Strengths Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Account Procurement in Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Account Procurement is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Account Procurement digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Account Procurement 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Account Procurement 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Account Procurement 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 Account Procurement in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Account Procurement 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 Account Procurement is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Account Procurement 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Account Procurement 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Account Procurement
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Account Procurement does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Account Procurement 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Account Procurement in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Account Procurement 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
– Account Procurement has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Account Procurement to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Account Procurement 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 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 Account Procurement supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Account Procurement vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management, 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Account Procurement 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management HBR case study mentions - Account Procurement 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management 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 Account Procurement has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Lynette J. Ryals, Brian Rogers, Beth Rogers suggests that, Account Procurement 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Account Procurement products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Account Procurement needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Account Procurement 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 - Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management, is just above the industry average. Account Procurement 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Account Procurement 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.
Opportunities Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management | 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management 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 Account Procurement in the consumer business. Now Account Procurement can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Account Procurement 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Account Procurement 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Account Procurement to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Account Procurement 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. Account Procurement 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Account Procurement can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management 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, Account Procurement can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Account Procurement operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
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 Account Procurement 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Account Procurement 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 Account Procurement to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Account Procurement 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Account Procurement 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.
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. Account Procurement can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Account Procurement 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, Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Account Procurement has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Account Procurement to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management case study. Account Procurement can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Account Procurement 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Account Procurement 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.
Increasing wage structure of Account Procurement
– 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 Account Procurement.
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 Account Procurement business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Account Procurement in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Account Procurement.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Account Procurement is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Account Procurement can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Account Procurement 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Account Procurement 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Account Procurement 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.
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. Account Procurement needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management 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 Holding Up the Mirror: The Impact of Strategic Procurement Practices on Account Management 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 Account Procurement needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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