Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution
Laurs & Bridz Pharmaceuticals Private Limited (Laurs & Bridz) was a state-of-the-art generic pharmaceutical company that exported pharmaceutical products all over the world and specialized in providing combination drugs to the medical community. The company needed to deploy a customer relationship management (CRM) solution to strengthen its sales and marketing, and build robust systems to better track customers, strengthen customer relationships, and enhance sales-force productivity. In 2017, Laurs & Bridz was considering several CRM solutions, which had been shortlisted on the basis of features and price. Before it could invest 50 million in the new system, Laurs & Bridz had to answer several important questions: Which of the available CRM solutions would best suit the firm? What would be the direct and indirect effects of implementing such a CRM solution? What kind of approach should the firm use to implement the solution? What obstacles could interfere with that solution's successful implementation? Anand Khanna is affiliated with Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad. Sandeep Puri is affiliated with Asian Institute of Management.
Authors :: Anand Khanna, Sandeep Puri, Abhishek Sen
Swot Analysis of "Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution" written by Anand Khanna, Sandeep Puri, Abhishek Sen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bridz Laurs facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bridz Laurs, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bridz Laurs 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bridz Laurs
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Bridz Laurs
Strengths Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bridz Laurs in Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Bridz Laurs has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bridz Laurs to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bridz Laurs to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bridz Laurs to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bridz Laurs 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bridz Laurs is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Bridz Laurs is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bridz Laurs in the sector have low bargaining power. Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bridz Laurs to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bridz Laurs 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.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bridz Laurs digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bridz Laurs has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Bridz Laurs is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bridz Laurs has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bridz Laurs 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.
Analytics focus
– Bridz Laurs 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 Anand Khanna, Sandeep Puri, Abhishek Sen 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.
Learning organization
- Bridz Laurs 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 Bridz Laurs is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution, in the dynamic environment Bridz Laurs has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bridz Laurs has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Bridz Laurs supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bridz Laurs vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bridz Laurs 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 - Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Bridz Laurs is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Anand Khanna, Sandeep Puri, Abhishek Sen suggests that, Bridz Laurs is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution HBR case study mentions - Bridz Laurs takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Bridz Laurs 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bridz Laurs is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Bridz Laurs needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bridz Laurs to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bridz Laurs, firm in the HBR case study Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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 Bridz Laurs 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Bridz Laurs 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.
Opportunities Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution | 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bridz Laurs 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bridz Laurs can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Bridz Laurs can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bridz Laurs to increase its market reach. Bridz Laurs 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bridz Laurs 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.
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 Bridz Laurs 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bridz Laurs has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bridz Laurs to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution case study. Bridz Laurs can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Bridz Laurs can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Bridz Laurs 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Bridz Laurs 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. Bridz Laurs 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bridz Laurs can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bridz Laurs in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bridz Laurs 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, Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bridz Laurs with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Bridz Laurs
– 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 Bridz Laurs.
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 Bridz Laurs in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Bridz Laurs.
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 Bridz Laurs business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Bridz Laurs 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
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. Bridz Laurs 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bridz Laurs 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Bridz Laurs 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Bridz Laurs is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Bridz Laurs 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. Bridz Laurs can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bridz Laurs in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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 Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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 Bridz Laurs needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
