Case Study Description of Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp.
In the summer of 1999, Adecco SA, one of the world's leading staffing companies, was in the midst of attempting to acquire the staffing operations of Olsten Corp., a U.S. firm. This case analyzes the economics of the staffing industry, basic valuation, cross-border issues including tax arbitrage, valuation of minority interest, and the importance of financial health in merger negotiations.
Swot Analysis of "Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp." written by Simi Kedia, Peter Tufano includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Adecco Olsten facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Mergers & acquisitions and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
technology disruption, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Adecco Olsten, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Adecco Olsten 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Adecco Olsten
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Adecco Olsten
Strengths Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Adecco Olsten in Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Adecco Olsten
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Adecco Olsten does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Adecco Olsten 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Adecco Olsten has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Adecco Olsten to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Adecco Olsten has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Adecco Olsten 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Adecco Olsten 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.
Training and development
– Adecco Olsten has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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.
Analytics focus
– Adecco Olsten 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 Simi Kedia, Peter Tufano 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Adecco Olsten is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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.
Learning organization
- Adecco Olsten 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 Adecco Olsten is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Adecco Olsten in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Adecco Olsten 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Simi Kedia, Peter Tufano suggests that, Adecco Olsten 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Adecco Olsten has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Adecco Olsten is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Adecco Olsten 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Adecco Olsten is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Adecco Olsten needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Adecco Olsten to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Adecco Olsten, firm in the HBR case study Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Adecco Olsten 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Adecco Olsten 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, Adecco Olsten 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. HBR case study mentions - Adecco Olsten 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Adecco Olsten 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 - Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. | 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. are -
Buying journey improvements
– Adecco Olsten can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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, Adecco Olsten can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Adecco Olsten operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
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 Adecco Olsten in the consumer business. Now Adecco Olsten can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Adecco Olsten can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting 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 Adecco Olsten has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Adecco Olsten to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. case study. Adecco Olsten can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Adecco Olsten is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Adecco Olsten 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 Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Adecco Olsten 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. Adecco Olsten 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Adecco Olsten can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Adecco Olsten 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Adecco Olsten 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, Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp., to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Adecco Olsten can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Adecco Olsten 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.
Threats Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. are -
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Adecco Olsten has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Adecco Olsten needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Adecco Olsten can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Adecco Olsten 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Adecco Olsten 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 Adecco Olsten
– 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 Adecco Olsten.
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. Adecco Olsten 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 Adecco Olsten business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Adecco Olsten 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. Adecco Olsten can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp., Adecco Olsten may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
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.
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 Adecco Olsten.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Adecco Olsten 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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 Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp. 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 Adecco Olsten needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.