Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
Until recently, most manufacturing processes have been 'subtractive' in that matter is removed (e.g., scraped, dissolved, turned, machined) from a substance in order to produce the desired product. 3-D printing turns traditional manufacturing on its head in that it uses an 'additive' process. Similar to laser and inkjet printers, 3-D (three-dimensional) printers produce pieces by depositing, or adding, layers of material--plastic, polymer filaments, metals, and even foodstuffs--until the desired product is realized. This means that the creation and production of 'one-offs' is not only easy, it is also economically viable. 3-D printers are becoming ever more affordable, and it is not hard to envision them being as common in most homes in the near future as their two-dimensional counterparts are today. This article presents a 3-D printing primer for non-technical managers. It then considers the profound impact that 3-D printing will have on firms of all kinds as well as on individual consumers. In addition, it raises the substantial questions that 3-D printing will pose to policy makers from both intellectual property and ethical standpoints.
Authors :: Jan H. Kietzmann, Leyland Pitt, Pierre R. Berthon
Swot Analysis of "Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing" written by Jan H. Kietzmann, Leyland Pitt, Pierre R. Berthon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Printing 3 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Technology and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Printing 3, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Printing 3 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Printing 3
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Printing 3
Strengths Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Printing 3 in Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Printing 3 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Printing 3 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Global Business field
– Printing 3 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 Printing 3 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Printing 3 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 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.
Organizational Resilience of Printing 3
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Printing 3 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Printing 3 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Printing 3 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Printing 3 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Printing 3 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Printing 3 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 Printing 3 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Printing 3 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Printing 3 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 Jan H. Kietzmann, Leyland Pitt, Pierre R. Berthon 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Printing 3 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
– Printing 3 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, is just above the industry average. Printing 3 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Printing 3 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Printing 3 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. Printing 3 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Printing 3, firm in the HBR case study Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Printing 3 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Printing 3 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Printing 3 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Printing 3 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 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 Printing 3 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jan H. Kietzmann, Leyland Pitt, Pierre R. Berthon suggests that, Printing 3 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Printing 3 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Printing 3 is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
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 Printing 3 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Printing 3 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing | 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Printing 3 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, Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Printing 3 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Printing 3 can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Printing 3 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. Printing 3 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Printing 3 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 Printing 3 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 Global Business segment.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Printing 3 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Printing 3 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing case study. Printing 3 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Printing 3 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Printing 3 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Printing 3 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Printing 3 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Printing 3 to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Printing 3 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Printing 3 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 Printing 3 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing are -
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Printing 3 in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Printing 3 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 Printing 3.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Printing 3 in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Printing 3 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Printing 3 is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Printing 3 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Printing 3 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing .
Increasing wage structure of Printing 3
– 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 Printing 3.
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 Printing 3 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Printing 3 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.
Environmental challenges
– Printing 3 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. Printing 3 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 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 Disruptions, Decisions, and Destinations: Enter the Age of 3-D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 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 Printing 3 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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