Swot Analysis of "Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints" written by William Nemitz, Dawna Travis Dewire, Richard Mandel, Ross Petty includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hints Horizontal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business processes, Entrepreneurship, Financial management, IT, Marketing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hints Horizontal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hints Horizontal 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 Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hints Horizontal
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hints Horizontal
Strengths Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hints Horizontal in Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hints Horizontal are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Hints Horizontal in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hints Horizontal is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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
– Hints Horizontal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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.
High brand equity
– Hints Horizontal has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hints Horizontal to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Hints Horizontal is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Hints Horizontal in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Innovation driven organization
– Hints Horizontal is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Hints Horizontal digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Hints Horizontal 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hints Horizontal has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hints Horizontal 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
- Hints Horizontal 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 Hints Horizontal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hints Horizontal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Hints Horizontal 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 William Nemitz, Dawna Travis Dewire, Richard Mandel, Ross Petty 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.
Weaknesses Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hints Horizontal is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Hints Horizontal needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hints Horizontal to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints HBR case study mentions - Hints Horizontal 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Hints Horizontal 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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 Hints Horizontal products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Hints Horizontal needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Hints Horizontal, firm in the HBR case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints, is just above the industry average. Hints Horizontal 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 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 Hints Horizontal supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hints Horizontal vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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 Hints Horizontal 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Hints Horizontal 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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 Hints Horizontal has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints | 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 Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Hints Horizontal 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 Hints Horizontal to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Hints Horizontal can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Hints Horizontal in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Hints Horizontal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hints Horizontal to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Hints Horizontal can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Hints Horizontal 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hints Horizontal 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Hints Horizontal can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hints Horizontal is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hints Horizontal 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, Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Hints Horizontal in the consumer business. Now Hints Horizontal can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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 Hints Horizontal 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.
Threats Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hints Horizontal 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hints Horizontal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hints Horizontal needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Hints Horizontal.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hints Horizontal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Hints Horizontal is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hints Horizontal 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 Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints .
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 Hints Horizontal in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hints Horizontal 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.
Environmental challenges
– Hints Horizontal 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. Hints Horizontal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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
– Hints Horizontal 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
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 Hints Horizontal business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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 Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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 Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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 Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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 Deals on Wheels Inc., Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Assignment Hints 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 Hints Horizontal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
