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General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet


From 2010 to 2017, General Electric pivoted from an industrial behemoth to a data-driven tech company by incorporating big data analytics across all of their subsidiaries. As the world's first "digital industrial" company, it named and the Industrial Internet - the "internet of things" for manufacturing - and is poised to win big in the future, as the current CEO, Jeff Immelt, hands over the reins to his predecessor, John Flannery.

Authors :: Robert E. Siegel, Cameron Lehman

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Internet, Manufacturing, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet" written by Robert E. Siegel, Cameron Lehman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Industrial Internet facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Internet, Manufacturing and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Industrial Internet, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Industrial Internet
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 Industrial Internet




Strengths General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Industrial Internet in General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet Harvard Business Review case study are -

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Industrial Internet 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry

– General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Industrial Internet to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Industrial Internet to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Diverse revenue streams

– Industrial Internet is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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.

High brand equity

– Industrial Internet has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Industrial Internet to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Organizational Resilience of Industrial Internet

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Industrial Internet does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Analytics focus

– Industrial Internet 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 Robert E. Siegel, Cameron Lehman 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Industrial Internet is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Industrial Internet has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Industrial Internet 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Industrial Internet 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

– Industrial Internet has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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.

Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Industrial Internet digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet are -

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet, is just above the industry average. Industrial Internet 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.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 Industrial Internet 's lucrative customers.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Industrial Internet 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 - General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet HBR case study mentions - Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 Industrial Internet has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Industrial Internet is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert E. Siegel, Cameron Lehman suggests that, Industrial Internet 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet, it seems that the employees of Industrial Internet 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.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Industrial Internet 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Industrial Internet 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.




Opportunities General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet | 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Industrial Internet 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Industrial Internet can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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.

Loyalty marketing

– Industrial Internet 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Industrial Internet to increase its market reach. Industrial Internet 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

– Industrial Internet 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.

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. Industrial Internet 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. Industrial Internet 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Industrial Internet 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, General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Industrial Internet is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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.

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. Industrial Internet can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Industrial Internet has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Industrial Internet to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet case study. Industrial Internet can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Developing new processes and practices

– Industrial Internet 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

– Industrial Internet 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Industrial Internet to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.




Threats General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet, Industrial Internet 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 .

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 Industrial Internet business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.

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. Industrial Internet needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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 Industrial Internet in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Environmental challenges

– Industrial Internet 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. Industrial Internet can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet .

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Industrial Internet 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. Industrial Internet can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Increasing wage structure of Industrial Internet

– 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 Industrial Internet.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Industrial Internet with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

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. Industrial Internet 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Industrial Internet 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 General Electric in 2017: Naming and Claiming the Industrial Internet 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 Industrial Internet needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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