The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing
The use of additive manufacturing technologies in different industries has increased substantially during the past years. Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line that enabled mass production of identical products in the 20th century. Currently, additive manufacturing enables and facilitates production of moderate to mass quantities of products that can be customized individually. Additive manufacturing technologies are opening new opportunities in terms of production paradigm and manufacturing possibilities. Manufacturing lead times will be reduced substantially, new designs will have shorter time to market, and customer demand will be met more quickly. This article identifies additive manufacturing implementation challenges, highlights its evolving technologies and trends and their impact on the world of tomorrow, discusses its advantages over traditional manufacturing, explores its impact on the supply chain, and investigates its transformative potential and impact on various industry segments.
Swot Analysis of "The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing" written by Mohsen Attaran includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Additive Manufacturing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing energy prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption,
there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Additive Manufacturing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Additive Manufacturing 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Additive Manufacturing
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 Additive Manufacturing
Strengths The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Additive Manufacturing in The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Additive Manufacturing 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Additive Manufacturing is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Additive Manufacturing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Additive Manufacturing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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 Additive Manufacturing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Additive Manufacturing 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Additive Manufacturing 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Additive Manufacturing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Additive Manufacturing 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Additive Manufacturing has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Additive Manufacturing 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Additive Manufacturing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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
– Additive Manufacturing 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing HBR case study mentions - Additive Manufacturing 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Additive Manufacturing has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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 Additive Manufacturing 's lucrative customers.
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 Additive Manufacturing supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Additive Manufacturing vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing, it seems that the employees of Additive Manufacturing 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Additive Manufacturing products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Additive Manufacturing needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Additive Manufacturing has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Additive Manufacturing even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Additive Manufacturing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Additive Manufacturing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Additive Manufacturing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Additive Manufacturing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing, 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
Additive Manufacturing 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing | 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Additive Manufacturing 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
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 Additive Manufacturing in the consumer business. Now Additive Manufacturing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Additive Manufacturing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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.
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 Additive Manufacturing 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Additive Manufacturing can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Additive Manufacturing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Additive Manufacturing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing case study. Additive Manufacturing can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Additive Manufacturing 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, The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Additive Manufacturing 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.
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. Additive Manufacturing can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Additive Manufacturing 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.
Threats The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing are -
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 Additive Manufacturing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Additive Manufacturing is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Additive Manufacturing.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Additive Manufacturing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Additive Manufacturing needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Additive Manufacturing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Additive Manufacturing 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.
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. Additive Manufacturing 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.
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. Additive Manufacturing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Additive Manufacturing
– 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 Additive Manufacturing.
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. Additive Manufacturing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Additive Manufacturing in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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 The Rise of 3-D Printing: The Advantages of Additive Manufacturing Over Traditional Manufacturing 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 Additive Manufacturing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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