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 - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, 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 -
Innovation driven organization
– Bridz Laurs is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Bridz Laurs 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 Bridz Laurs in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Training and development
– Bridz Laurs has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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.
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.
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 -
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bridz Laurs 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 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.
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.
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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Bridz Laurs products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Bridz Laurs needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Bridz Laurs is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution, it seems that the employees of Bridz Laurs 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bridz Laurs 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. Bridz Laurs 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.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution, is just above the industry average. Bridz Laurs 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 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 -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bridz Laurs is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Laurs & Bridz: Implementation of a Customer Relationship Management Solution 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bridz Laurs can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bridz Laurs operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
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.
Loyalty marketing
– Bridz Laurs 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.
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 Bridz Laurs in the consumer business. Now Bridz Laurs can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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.
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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bridz Laurs 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.
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.
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.
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. Bridz Laurs can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Bridz Laurs can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Bridz Laurs 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Bridz Laurs can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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.