Case Study Description of Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version
When students have the English-language PDF of this Brief Case in a coursepack, they will also have the option to purchase an audio version.Scientific Glassware is a fast-growing, privately held company that provides specialized glassware for laboratory and research facilities. Excess inventory is tying up extra capital needed to fund the company's expansion plans. The newly hired Manager of Inventory Planning is tasked with developing an effective strategy for managing inventory without requiring additional capital investment. The company has launched several initiatives, such as adding a dedicated domestic sales force, which directly affect inventory requirements. At the same time, the company has announced a commitment to improve customer responsiveness and reduce the "fill rate," the time it takes to fulfill new orders. These changes may require adding warehouses or outsourcing fulfillment services. This case focuses on the business challenges of inventory control and order processing, particularly the tradeoffs between centralized and decentralized inventories. Students must complete a quantitative analysis of the costs and benefits of several alternatives. Subjects Include: logistics, inventory control, order processing, inventory management, fulfillment, warehouses, and materials management.
Swot Analysis of "Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version" written by Steven C. Wheelwright, William Schmidt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Inventory Glassware facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Sales, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Inventory Glassware, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Inventory Glassware 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Inventory Glassware
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 Inventory Glassware
Strengths Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Inventory Glassware in Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Inventory Glassware is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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
– Inventory Glassware has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Inventory Glassware is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Inventory Glassware 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 Steven C. Wheelwright, William Schmidt 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.
Learning organization
- Inventory Glassware 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 Inventory Glassware is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Inventory Glassware has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Inventory Glassware 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Inventory Glassware in the sector have low bargaining power. Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Inventory Glassware to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Inventory Glassware is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Inventory Glassware has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Inventory Glassware to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Inventory Glassware to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Inventory Glassware to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Inventory Glassware digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Inventory Glassware 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.
Weaknesses Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version, it seems that the employees of Inventory Glassware 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Inventory Glassware 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Steven C. Wheelwright, William Schmidt suggests that, Inventory Glassware 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Inventory Glassware 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version, in the dynamic environment Inventory Glassware has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Inventory Glassware has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Inventory Glassware is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Inventory Glassware needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Inventory Glassware to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Inventory Glassware 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 - Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version, is just above the industry average. Inventory Glassware 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Inventory Glassware 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Inventory Glassware, firm in the HBR case study Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Inventory Glassware is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version | 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Inventory Glassware 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
– Inventory Glassware 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
– Inventory Glassware 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Inventory Glassware to increase its market reach. Inventory Glassware 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Inventory Glassware can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Inventory Glassware can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Inventory Glassware 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, Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Inventory Glassware 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.
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. Inventory Glassware can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Inventory Glassware 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Inventory Glassware can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Inventory Glassware operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Inventory Glassware 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Inventory Glassware 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Inventory Glassware to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Inventory Glassware has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Inventory Glassware 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version, Inventory Glassware 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 .
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Inventory Glassware 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 wage structure of Inventory Glassware
– 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 Inventory Glassware.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Inventory Glassware 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. Inventory Glassware 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, Inventory Glassware 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Inventory Glassware with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Inventory Glassware 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.
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 Inventory Glassware.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Inventory Glassware 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. Inventory Glassware can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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 Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case), Spanish Version 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 Inventory Glassware needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.