Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement
This supplementary video shows the Kutesmart System at Redcollar Group. It is an example of a mass customization system that is data-driven, but is predominantly based on manual operations. It is offered as a contrast to highly automated data-driven manufacturing.
Swot Analysis of "Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement" written by Willy Shih includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kutesmart Driven facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Product development, Strategy and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kutesmart Driven, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kutesmart Driven 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kutesmart Driven
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 Kutesmart Driven
Strengths Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kutesmart Driven in Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kutesmart Driven 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.
Organizational Resilience of Kutesmart Driven
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kutesmart Driven does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kutesmart Driven has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kutesmart Driven 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
- Kutesmart Driven 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 Kutesmart Driven is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Kutesmart Driven is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kutesmart Driven to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kutesmart Driven to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kutesmart Driven 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kutesmart Driven 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Kutesmart Driven is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kutesmart Driven 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kutesmart Driven digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kutesmart Driven 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement are -
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Kutesmart Driven 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.
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 Kutesmart Driven supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kutesmart Driven vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kutesmart Driven 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 - Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Need for greater diversity
– Kutesmart Driven 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Kutesmart Driven is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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 Kutesmart Driven has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kutesmart Driven 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement HBR case study mentions - Kutesmart Driven 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kutesmart Driven products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kutesmart Driven needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Willy Shih suggests that, Kutesmart Driven 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.
Opportunities Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement | 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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, Kutesmart Driven can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kutesmart Driven 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 Kutesmart Driven 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kutesmart Driven 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 Kutesmart Driven to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Kutesmart Driven 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Kutesmart Driven 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Kutesmart Driven to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kutesmart Driven 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.
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 Kutesmart Driven to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Buying journey improvements
– Kutesmart Driven can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Kutesmart Driven is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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.
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. Kutesmart Driven 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. Kutesmart Driven 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
– Kutesmart Driven 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Kutesmart Driven has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Kutesmart Driven to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement case study. Kutesmart Driven can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Kutesmart Driven 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.
Threats Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kutesmart Driven 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement .
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement, Kutesmart Driven 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kutesmart Driven 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
– Kutesmart Driven has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kutesmart Driven 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kutesmart Driven is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kutesmart Driven 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kutesmart Driven 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.
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 Kutesmart Driven in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Kutesmart Driven 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. Kutesmart Driven can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Kutesmart Driven will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
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. Kutesmart Driven can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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 Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System, Video Supplement 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 Kutesmart Driven needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.