Case Study Description of MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger
In 2015, MobilityWorks, the largest mobility dealership and reformer of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) in the United States, found itself unable to cater to a large enough fraction of the population with limited mobility. With the baby boomers starting to retire, the gap was widening at a pace much faster than the growth of the WAV industry. How could MobilityWorks re-work its business strategy in order to grow across different market segments? Chris Laszlo and Katherine Gullett are affiliated with Case Western Reserve University.
Authors :: Chris Laszlo, Katherine Gullett, Manish Gupta
Swot Analysis of "MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger" written by Chris Laszlo, Katherine Gullett, Manish Gupta includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mobilityworks Mobility facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mobilityworks Mobility, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mobilityworks Mobility 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 MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mobilityworks Mobility
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mobilityworks Mobility
Strengths MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mobilityworks Mobility in MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mobilityworks Mobility has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mobilityworks Mobility 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mobilityworks Mobility to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mobilityworks Mobility to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mobilityworks Mobility 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 Mobilityworks Mobility in the sector have low bargaining power. MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mobilityworks Mobility to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Mobilityworks Mobility 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 Mobilityworks Mobility 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
– Mobilityworks Mobility is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mobilityworks Mobility has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Mobilityworks Mobility is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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.
Organizational Resilience of Mobilityworks Mobility
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mobilityworks Mobility does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Mobilityworks Mobility in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Mobilityworks Mobility is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Mobilityworks Mobility products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mobilityworks Mobility needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mobilityworks Mobility is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Mobilityworks Mobility needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mobilityworks Mobility to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mobilityworks Mobility 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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 Mobilityworks Mobility 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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 MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Mobilityworks Mobility is planning to shift buying processes online.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger, it seems that the employees of Mobilityworks Mobility 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mobilityworks Mobility, firm in the HBR case study MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Mobilityworks Mobility supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Mobilityworks Mobility vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Mobilityworks Mobility is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mobilityworks Mobility 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 - MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger, is just above the industry average. Mobilityworks Mobility 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.
Opportunities MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger | 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 MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mobilityworks Mobility 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, MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Mobilityworks Mobility can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mobilityworks Mobility can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mobilityworks Mobility operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mobilityworks Mobility 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 MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mobilityworks Mobility to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mobilityworks Mobility 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 Mobilityworks Mobility to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Mobilityworks Mobility in the consumer business. Now Mobilityworks Mobility can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Mobilityworks Mobility can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mobilityworks Mobility in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mobilityworks Mobility can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Loyalty marketing
– Mobilityworks Mobility 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mobilityworks Mobility 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Developing new processes and practices
– Mobilityworks Mobility can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mobilityworks Mobility has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mobilityworks Mobility to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger case study. Mobilityworks Mobility can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger are -
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Mobilityworks Mobility business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger, Mobilityworks Mobility may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Mobilityworks Mobility can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Mobilityworks Mobility in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Environmental challenges
– Mobilityworks Mobility 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. Mobilityworks Mobility can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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 Mobilityworks Mobility.
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. Mobilityworks Mobility will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Mobilityworks Mobility needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mobilityworks Mobility has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mobilityworks Mobility needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mobilityworks Mobility 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 Mobilityworks Mobility 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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 MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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 MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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 MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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 MobilityWorks: Faster, Higher, Stronger 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 Mobilityworks Mobility needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.