Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches
Facing the downturn in late 2008, the partners in a West-Coast venture capital firm are trying to decide how to manage their portfolio companies and whether to make new investments. Not only must they consider the particulars of each company individually, but they must also think about how to manage the entire firm's portfolio.
Authors :: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Ann Leamon
Swot Analysis of "Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches" written by Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Ann Leamon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Battening Hatches facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Recession, Strategy, Venture capital and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Battening Hatches, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Battening Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Battening Hatches
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Battening Hatches
Strengths Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Battening Hatches in Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Battening Hatches is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Battening Hatches has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Battening Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Battening Hatches in the sector have low bargaining power. Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Battening Hatches to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Battening Hatches 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 Battening Hatches is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Battening Hatches 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 Battening Hatches in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Battening Hatches 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 Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Ann Leamon 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Battening Hatches to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Battening Hatches to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Battening Hatches digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Battening Hatches 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Battening Hatches in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Battening Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Battening Hatches is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches, in the dynamic environment Battening Hatches has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Battening Hatches has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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 Battening Hatches has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
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 Battening Hatches supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Battening Hatches vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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 Battening Hatches 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Battening Hatches, firm in the HBR case study Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Battening Hatches is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Battening Hatches is planning to shift buying processes online.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Battening Hatches 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 Battening Hatches products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Battening Hatches needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Battening Hatches 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. Battening Hatches 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Battening Hatches 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.
Opportunities Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches | 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Battening Hatches 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, Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Battening Hatches 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
– Battening Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Battening Hatches to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Battening Hatches 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Battening Hatches is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Battening Hatches can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Battening Hatches can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Battening Hatches can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Battening Hatches operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Battening Hatches 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Battening Hatches can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Battening Hatches to increase its market reach. Battening Hatches will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Buying journey improvements
– Battening Hatches can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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. Battening Hatches can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Battening Hatches has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Battening Hatches needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Battening Hatches 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Battening Hatches can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Battening Hatches business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Battening Hatches needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Battening Hatches in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Battening Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches .
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Battening Hatches 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 Battening Hatches.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches, Battening Hatches may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
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 Battening Hatches in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Battening Hatches 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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 Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches 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 Battening Hatches needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
