D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise
In mid-March 2007, Chris Kryder sat in his office and thought about how to best finance his company's growth. Over the previous five years as founder and CEO of D2Hawkeye, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based healthcare analytics company, Kryder had grown the firm from a six-person start-up into a leading developer and provider of medical analytics in the U.S. He had three term sheets in hand-two from strategic investors and one from a venture capital firm. Each offer had its advantages and disadvantages and Kryder needed to decide which offer to accept.
Authors :: Robert F. Higgins, Brent Kazan, Sophie Lamontagne
Swot Analysis of "D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise" written by Robert F. Higgins, Brent Kazan, Sophie Lamontagne includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kryder D2hawkeye facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Entrepreneurial management, Financial management, Growth strategy, IT, Marketing, Strategy execution, Venture capital and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kryder D2hawkeye, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kryder D2hawkeye 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kryder D2hawkeye
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kryder D2hawkeye
Strengths D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kryder D2hawkeye in D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Kryder D2hawkeye has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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)
– Kryder D2hawkeye 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kryder D2hawkeye to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kryder D2hawkeye to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Kryder D2hawkeye 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, Brent Kazan, Sophie Lamontagne can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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 Finance & Accounting field
– Kryder D2hawkeye 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 Kryder D2hawkeye in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Kryder D2hawkeye has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kryder D2hawkeye to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kryder D2hawkeye 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Kryder D2hawkeye is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Kryder D2hawkeye in the sector have low bargaining power. D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Kryder D2hawkeye to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Kryder D2hawkeye in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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 Kryder D2hawkeye has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise, in the dynamic environment Kryder D2hawkeye has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Kryder D2hawkeye has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kryder D2hawkeye is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Kryder D2hawkeye needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kryder D2hawkeye to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise HBR case study mentions - Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
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 Kryder D2hawkeye supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kryder D2hawkeye vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Kryder D2hawkeye products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Kryder D2hawkeye needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Need for greater diversity
– Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise, it seems that the employees of Kryder D2hawkeye don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Opportunities D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise | 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise are -
Manufacturing automation
– Kryder D2hawkeye can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Finance & Accounting industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Kryder D2hawkeye can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Kryder D2hawkeye is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Kryder D2hawkeye can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Kryder D2hawkeye 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. Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
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 Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kryder D2hawkeye 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, D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kryder D2hawkeye can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kryder D2hawkeye to increase its market reach. Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kryder D2hawkeye can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kryder D2hawkeye 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.
Threats D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise are -
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. Kryder D2hawkeye will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Kryder D2hawkeye business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Kryder D2hawkeye
– 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 Kryder D2hawkeye.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kryder D2hawkeye with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Kryder D2hawkeye can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kryder D2hawkeye 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise .
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.
Environmental challenges
– Kryder D2hawkeye 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. Kryder D2hawkeye can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise, Kryder D2hawkeye may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kryder D2hawkeye in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting 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 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. Kryder D2hawkeye needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kryder D2hawkeye 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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 D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise 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 Kryder D2hawkeye needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
