Swot Analysis of "Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions" 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 Bab372 Wheels facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions 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., Discussion Questions casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, technology disruption,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bab372 Wheels, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bab372 Wheels 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., Discussion Questions can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bab372 Wheels
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 Bab372 Wheels
Strengths Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bab372 Wheels in Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Bab372 Wheels has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bab372 Wheels to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Bab372 Wheels is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bab372 Wheels 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bab372 Wheels to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bab372 Wheels to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bab372 Wheels is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions 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.
Analytics focus
– Bab372 Wheels 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bab372 Wheels
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bab372 Wheels does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bab372 Wheels in the sector have low bargaining power. Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bab372 Wheels to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bab372 Wheels is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Bab372 Wheels 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., Discussion Questions 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bab372 Wheels in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions, in the dynamic environment Bab372 Wheels has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bab372 Wheels has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions, it seems that the employees of Bab372 Wheels 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Bab372 Wheels 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions, is just above the industry average. Bab372 Wheels 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bab372 Wheels 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 - Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bab372 Wheels 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bab372 Wheels 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions 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 Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bab372 Wheels is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions 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 Bab372 Wheels 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bab372 Wheels is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Bab372 Wheels needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bab372 Wheels to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bab372 Wheels 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. Bab372 Wheels 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.
Opportunities Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions | 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., Discussion Questions are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bab372 Wheels has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bab372 Wheels to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions case study. Bab372 Wheels can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bab372 Wheels to increase its market reach. Bab372 Wheels will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bab372 Wheels can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bab372 Wheels operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Bab372 Wheels 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. Bab372 Wheels 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bab372 Wheels has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bab372 Wheels to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bab372 Wheels 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., Discussion Questions, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Loyalty marketing
– Bab372 Wheels 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.
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. Bab372 Wheels can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bab372 Wheels can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Bab372 Wheels 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bab372 Wheels 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 Bab372 Wheels 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Bab372 Wheels 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.
Threats Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions 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., Discussion Questions are -
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 Bab372 Wheels in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Bab372 Wheels can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bab372 Wheels is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
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. Bab372 Wheels 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.
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 Bab372 Wheels business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bab372 Wheels can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bab372 Wheels with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bab372 Wheels 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bab372 Wheels 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bab372 Wheels has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bab372 Wheels 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.
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. Bab372 Wheels needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bab372 Wheels 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., Discussion Questions .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Deals on Wheels Inc., Discussion Questions 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., Discussion Questions 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., Discussion Questions 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., Discussion Questions 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., Discussion Questions 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 Bab372 Wheels needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.