Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version
Innovation was linked to Timberland's heritage. In 2005, CEO Jeff Swartz and COO Ken Pucker hoped the Invention Factory, an advanced concept lab, would develop new breakthrough products and reinvigorate the company's culture of innovation. Since the 1960s, Timberland had relied on innovation, developing the world's first waterproof boot and, in the 1980s, category-defining boat shoes and day hiking boots. Creating variations of these core products, along with expansion into apparel, had sustained Timberland's business for more than 30 years. Timberland's growth in the past six years was due to increased international sales and new customer segments. As Timberland's leaders looked to the future, they hoped Doug Clark, a biomechanist, and his Invention Factory team would bring a scientific approach toward building the next generation of Timberland products and ideas. The team had to convince those in the mainstream business to accept their new ideas and integrate them back into the product line.
Swot Analysis of "Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version" written by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ryan Raffaelli includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Timberland's Timberland facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Leadership, Organizational culture, Product development and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, increasing commodity prices, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Timberland's Timberland, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Timberland's Timberland 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Timberland's Timberland
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 Timberland's Timberland
Strengths Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Timberland's Timberland in Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Timberland's Timberland in the sector have low bargaining power. Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Timberland's Timberland to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Timberland's Timberland 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Timberland's Timberland 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Timberland's Timberland is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Timberland's Timberland 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Timberland's Timberland is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Timberland's Timberland 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 Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ryan Raffaelli 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
– Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Timberland's Timberland to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Timberland's Timberland to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Timberland's Timberland 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Timberland's Timberland is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Timberland's Timberland in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Timberland's Timberland has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Timberland's Timberland has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Weaknesses Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Timberland's Timberland 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. Timberland's Timberland 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Timberland's Timberland 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Timberland's Timberland 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version 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 Timberland's Timberland 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Timberland's Timberland is planning to shift buying processes online.
Lack of clear differentiation of Timberland's Timberland products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Timberland's Timberland needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version HBR case study mentions - Timberland's Timberland 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Timberland's Timberland 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 - Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Timberland's Timberland is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Timberland's Timberland 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 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 Timberland's Timberland supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Timberland's Timberland vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version | 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Timberland's Timberland 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Timberland's Timberland to increase its market reach. Timberland's Timberland 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.
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. Timberland's Timberland can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Timberland's Timberland has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Timberland's Timberland to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version case study. Timberland's Timberland can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Timberland's Timberland 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Timberland's Timberland 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Timberland's Timberland 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 Timberland's Timberland to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Timberland's Timberland is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Timberland's Timberland can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Timberland's Timberland can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Timberland's Timberland 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Timberland's Timberland to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Timberland's Timberland 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Timberland's Timberland 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.
Threats Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Timberland's Timberland has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Timberland's Timberland 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.
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 Timberland's Timberland in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Timberland's Timberland 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Timberland's Timberland 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version, Timberland's Timberland 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 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. Timberland's Timberland 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Timberland's Timberland 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Timberland's Timberland is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Timberland's Timberland
– 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 Timberland's Timberland.
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 Timberland's Timberland business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Timberland's Timberland 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. Timberland's Timberland can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Timberland's Timberland 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version 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 Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box, Spanish Version 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 Timberland's Timberland needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
