Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint
Clover Network's founders didn't see the curveball coming at the end of 2012. The two-year-old start-up had just nine employees. It had dumped its first business idea, pivoted from its second, and was working hard on a new product: a tablet-based cash register with built-in credit card processing. Large credit card payment processing companies had started noticing Clover and one had just agreed to pre-order $2 million of Clover hardware. It was Clover's first such deal. But around Thanksgiving, Clover learned that First Data-the card processing industry's 800-pound gorilla-also was interested in Clover's technology. If it could bring First Data on as a customer, Clover would have a pipeline to a huge number of retailers. In early December, one of Clover's founders received a 2?-page letter from First Data. He had expected a proposal to buy and distribute Clover equipment, maybe with a small equity investment. Instead, First Data said it wanted to acquire "no less than 75 percent" of Clover, and close the deal by December 31. Was it time to sell Clover? The case highlights how a start-up decides to respond to an unexpected buyout offer and how it proposes to structure the deal.
Authors :: Julie Makinen, Mike Speiser, Mark Leslie
Swot Analysis of "Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint" written by Julie Makinen, Mike Speiser, Mark Leslie includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Clover Clover's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions, Motivating people, Negotiations, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Clover Clover's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Clover Clover's 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 Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Clover Clover's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Clover Clover's
Strengths Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Clover Clover's in Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Clover Clover's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Clover Clover's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Clover Clover's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Clover Clover's 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 Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Clover Clover's 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 Clover Clover's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Clover Clover's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Clover Clover's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Clover Clover's 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 Julie Makinen, Mike Speiser, Mark Leslie 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Clover Clover's 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 Clover Clover's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Clover Clover's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Clover Clover's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Clover Clover's 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Clover Clover's in the sector have low bargaining power. Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Clover Clover's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Clover Clover's 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.
Weaknesses Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Clover Clover's 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Clover Clover's 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. Clover Clover's 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.
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 Clover Clover's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Clover Clover's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint, is just above the industry average. Clover Clover's 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint, in the dynamic environment Clover Clover's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Clover Clover's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Clover Clover's 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Clover Clover's 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Clover Clover's 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 - Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Clover Clover's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Clover Clover's products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Clover Clover's needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Clover Clover's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint | 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 Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Clover Clover's 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Clover Clover's 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Loyalty marketing
– Clover Clover's 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Clover Clover's 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Clover Clover's 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 Clover Clover's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Clover Clover's 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.
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 Clover Clover's in the consumer business. Now Clover Clover's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Clover Clover's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
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. Clover Clover's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Clover Clover's 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. Clover Clover's 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
– Clover Clover's 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Clover Clover's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint 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, Clover Clover's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint 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.
Threats Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Clover Clover's in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Clover Clover's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint, Clover Clover's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
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.
Increasing wage structure of Clover Clover's
– 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 Clover Clover's.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Clover Clover's is facing in Strategy & Execution 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 Clover Clover's.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Clover Clover's 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
– Clover Clover's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Clover Clover's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
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 Clover Clover's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Clover Clover's 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
– Clover Clover's 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. Clover Clover's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint 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 Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint 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 Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint 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 Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint 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 Clover (B): What Was Dean Nelson Thinking? KKR's Viewpoint 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 Clover Clover's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.