Case Study Description of Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements
Slingshot Technology Inc. (STI) is a privately held software start-up founded in 1995 focused on identifying emerging spaces in the IT services industry and partnering with vendors selling promising but unproven technologies in those spaces. The vendors used STI to extend their system development and integration capabilities to deliver on aggressive deadlines, STI gained a steady stream of consulting and engineering work plus opportunities to identify and meet follow-on needs of the vendors' Fortune 1000 customers. Four years after the company was founded with $1,000, revenue had exploded to $1.9 million on the basis of partnerships with enterprise applications development and enterprise application integration vendors. In late 1998, the founder was pondering how to set up an innovative "software factory" to complement the consulting side of the business while ensuring that STI's knowledge assets and intellectual property were protected.
Swot Analysis of "Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements" written by Lynda M. Applegate, Elizabeth Collins includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sti Vendors facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, IT, Leadership, Organizational structure, Strategic planning and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sti Vendors, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sti Vendors 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sti Vendors
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 Sti Vendors
Strengths Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sti Vendors in Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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.
Training and development
– Sti Vendors has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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.
Learning organization
- Sti Vendors 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 Sti Vendors is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Sti Vendors 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 Lynda M. Applegate, Elizabeth Collins 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sti Vendors 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Sti Vendors is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Sti Vendors
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sti Vendors does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Sti Vendors has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sti Vendors to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Sti Vendors in the sector have low bargaining power. Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sti Vendors to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sti Vendors digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sti Vendors 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sti Vendors to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sti Vendors to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sti Vendors 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements are -
Need for greater diversity
– Sti Vendors 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements, 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sti Vendors 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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 Sti Vendors has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Lynda M. Applegate, Elizabeth Collins suggests that, Sti Vendors 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sti Vendors 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Sti Vendors 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 - Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sti Vendors is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Sti Vendors needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sti Vendors to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sti Vendors needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High 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 Sti Vendors supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sti Vendors vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sti Vendors, firm in the HBR case study Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements | 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sti Vendors to increase its market reach. Sti Vendors 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Sti Vendors 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.
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. Sti Vendors can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sti Vendors can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Sti Vendors in the consumer business. Now Sti Vendors can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sti Vendors 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sti Vendors 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Sti Vendors 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. Sti Vendors 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sti Vendors is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sti Vendors 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sti Vendors to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sti Vendors can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sti Vendors operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Sti Vendors has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sti Vendors 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.
Threats Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements, Sti Vendors 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sti Vendors 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.
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.
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. Sti Vendors needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Sti Vendors 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
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. Sti Vendors can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Sti Vendors
– 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 Sti Vendors.
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. Sti Vendors 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.
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 Sti Vendors.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sti Vendors 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sti Vendors with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sti Vendors is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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 Slingshot Technology, Inc. Supplement: Partnership Agreements 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 Sti Vendors needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.