RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims...
The case describes this health and wellness service company and poses the question: should RedBrick stay on the path of building out its product platform or should the RedBrick platform be launched directly to health insurers, ACOs, or directly to customers?
Authors :: Robert F. Higgins, Robert M. Greenglass
Swot Analysis of "RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims..." written by Robert F. Higgins, Robert M. Greenglass includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Redbrick Slims facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Health and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims...
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Redbrick Slims, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Redbrick Slims 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 RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Redbrick Slims
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 Redbrick Slims
Strengths RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Redbrick Slims in RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Redbrick Slims digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Redbrick Slims 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Redbrick Slims 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 Redbrick Slims in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Redbrick Slims 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 Robert F. Higgins, Robert M. Greenglass 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Redbrick Slims is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Redbrick Slims in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Redbrick Slims 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Redbrick Slims 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 RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Redbrick Slims to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Redbrick Slims to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Redbrick Slims
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Redbrick Slims does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Redbrick Slims 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 Redbrick Slims is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Redbrick Slims has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Redbrick Slims to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Redbrick Slims 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 - RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Lack of clear differentiation of Redbrick Slims products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Redbrick Slims needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims..., it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Redbrick Slims has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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 Redbrick Slims has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert F. Higgins, Robert M. Greenglass suggests that, Redbrick Slims 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Redbrick Slims 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.
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 Redbrick Slims supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims..., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Redbrick Slims vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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 Redbrick Slims 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Redbrick Slims 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 to strategic competitive environment developments
– As RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... HBR case study mentions - Redbrick Slims 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.
Opportunities RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... | 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 RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Redbrick Slims 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Developing new processes and practices
– Redbrick Slims 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Redbrick Slims 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 RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Redbrick Slims to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Redbrick Slims can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Redbrick Slims in the consumer business. Now Redbrick Slims can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Redbrick Slims has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Redbrick Slims to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... case study. Redbrick Slims can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Redbrick Slims can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Redbrick Slims to increase its market reach. Redbrick Slims 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Redbrick Slims 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Redbrick Slims 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 Redbrick Slims 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 Redbrick Slims to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Redbrick Slims 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Redbrick Slims can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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.
Threats RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... are -
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 Redbrick Slims business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Redbrick Slims 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
– Redbrick Slims 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 Redbrick Slims.
Increasing wage structure of Redbrick Slims
– 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 Redbrick Slims.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Redbrick Slims 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.
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. Redbrick Slims 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.
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. Redbrick Slims 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 Redbrick Slims is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
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 Redbrick Slims in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Redbrick Slims needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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 RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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 RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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 RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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 RedBrick Health: How to Fatten the Company That Slims... 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 Redbrick Slims needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.