Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License?
Supplement to case HEC149. "Telemetrix" is a two-part case study; its parts can be used alone or in sequence. Case A "North-South Exports Lends a Helping Hand to Telemetrix: Mexico or Brazil?" showcases a young analyst at North-South Exports, a small Quebec-based export management firm that helps SMEs with international expansion. The analyst must make recommendations as to the best way for the company's client Telemetrix to rapidly achieve sales in Latin America, and whether to focus on Brazil or Mexico. Case B "Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Outsourcing, or Licence?" focuses on the choice of an entry mode to penetrate a foreign market, in this case, Brazil, and, based on this choice, on the selection of a local business partner. It also addresses the difficulty of developing international supplier-customer relations. Just like Case A, Case B is a decision-making case. The analyst must determine the best entry mode and which partners will lead Telemetrix to success in Brazil and, subsequently, elsewhere in South America.
Swot Analysis of "Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License?" written by Aurelia Durand, Eleonore Kuentz includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Telemetrix Brazil facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Telemetrix Brazil, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Telemetrix Brazil 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Telemetrix Brazil
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 Telemetrix Brazil
Strengths Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Telemetrix Brazil in Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Telemetrix Brazil 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Telemetrix Brazil 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 Aurelia Durand, Eleonore Kuentz 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Telemetrix Brazil has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Telemetrix Brazil is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Telemetrix Brazil digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Telemetrix Brazil 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Telemetrix Brazil is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Telemetrix Brazil is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Telemetrix Brazil in the sector have low bargaining power. Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Telemetrix Brazil to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Telemetrix Brazil has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Telemetrix Brazil in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Telemetrix Brazil is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Telemetrix Brazil needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Telemetrix Brazil to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License?, in the dynamic environment Telemetrix Brazil has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Telemetrix Brazil has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Telemetrix Brazil, firm in the HBR case study Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Telemetrix Brazil 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. Telemetrix Brazil 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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 Telemetrix Brazil 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Telemetrix Brazil 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? HBR case study mentions - Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Telemetrix Brazil products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Telemetrix Brazil needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Telemetrix Brazil 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 - Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? | 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Telemetrix Brazil 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.
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 Telemetrix Brazil in the consumer business. Now Telemetrix Brazil can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Telemetrix Brazil is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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.
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 Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Telemetrix Brazil in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business 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, Telemetrix Brazil 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, Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License?, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Telemetrix Brazil can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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 Telemetrix Brazil 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Telemetrix Brazil 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 Telemetrix Brazil to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Telemetrix Brazil can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? are -
Increasing wage structure of Telemetrix Brazil
– 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 Telemetrix Brazil.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Telemetrix Brazil demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Environmental challenges
– Telemetrix Brazil 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. Telemetrix Brazil can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Global Business industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Telemetrix Brazil 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Telemetrix Brazil 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
– Telemetrix Brazil 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.
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 Telemetrix Brazil business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Telemetrix Brazil with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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 Telemetrix Brazil.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Telemetrix Brazil 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? .
Regulatory challenges
– Telemetrix Brazil 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 Global Business industry regulations.
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. Telemetrix Brazil 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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 Telemetrix (B) - Telemetrix in Brazil: Indirect Export, Subcontract, or License? 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 Telemetrix Brazil needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
