Case Study Description of CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations
In September 2016, a senior consultant at the Indore campus of the Central Institute of Management and Consulting (CIMC) was busy preparing some documents for a meeting on a transportation problem the organization was facing. CIMC Indore's chief operating officer had requested his assistance to resolve the transport department's issues. Management was incurring substantial yearly costs for maintenance related to the drivers that operated the various vehicles of the organizations. There was also a need to rationalize the workload of the drivers to avoid dissonance among employees. Following his meeting with the chief operating officer, the senior consultant saw an opportunity to reduce the annual cost of drivers, while addressing some of the dissatisfaction that was present among drivers concerning their schedules and workload. Soumyajyoti Datta and Rohit Kapoor are affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Indore.
Swot Analysis of "CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations" written by Soumyajyoti Datta, Rohit Kapoor includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cimc Drivers facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic ,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cimc Drivers, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cimc Drivers 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cimc Drivers
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 Cimc Drivers
Strengths CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Cimc Drivers in CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Cimc Drivers 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 Cimc Drivers 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
– Cimc Drivers is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Cimc Drivers has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cimc Drivers 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
- Cimc Drivers 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 Cimc Drivers is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Cimc Drivers is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Cimc Drivers in the sector have low bargaining power. CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cimc Drivers to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Cimc Drivers 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Cimc Drivers 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cimc Drivers to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cimc Drivers to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Cimc Drivers is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– Cimc Drivers has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cimc Drivers to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Cimc Drivers 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. Cimc Drivers 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 Cimc Drivers supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cimc Drivers vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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 Cimc Drivers 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations, it seems that the employees of Cimc Drivers 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Cimc Drivers products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Cimc Drivers needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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 Cimc Drivers has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Cimc Drivers 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Cimc Drivers 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cimc Drivers is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Cimc Drivers has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations | 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Cimc Drivers 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Cimc Drivers 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.
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. Cimc Drivers can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Cimc Drivers is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Cimc Drivers 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Cimc Drivers can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cimc Drivers 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Cimc Drivers has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Cimc Drivers to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations case study. Cimc Drivers can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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. Cimc Drivers can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Cimc Drivers in the consumer business. Now Cimc Drivers can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cimc Drivers 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 Cimc Drivers to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Cimc Drivers 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Cimc Drivers can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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.
Threats CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cimc Drivers 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations .
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. Cimc Drivers 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 Cimc Drivers
– 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 Cimc Drivers.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cimc Drivers in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Cimc Drivers has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cimc Drivers 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Cimc Drivers 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. Cimc Drivers 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.
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 Cimc Drivers in the Technology & Operations 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.
Environmental challenges
– Cimc Drivers 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. Cimc Drivers can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Cimc Drivers 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Cimc Drivers with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Cimc Drivers business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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 CIMC Indore: Sustaining Growth through Efficient Operations 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 Cimc Drivers needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
