Swot Analysis of "American Express Travel Related Services Co." written by John J. Kao includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gerstner Lou facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in American Express Travel Related Services Co. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Creativity, Entrepreneurial management, Managing people, Organizational culture and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the American Express Travel Related Services Co. casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of American Express Travel Related Services Co.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in American Express Travel Related Services Co. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gerstner Lou, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gerstner Lou 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in American Express Travel Related Services Co. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gerstner Lou
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 Gerstner Lou
Strengths American Express Travel Related Services Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gerstner Lou in American Express Travel Related Services Co. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Gerstner Lou 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 Gerstner Lou in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Gerstner Lou
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Gerstner Lou does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Gerstner Lou 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 John J. Kao 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
– American Express Travel Related Services Co. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gerstner Lou to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gerstner Lou to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Gerstner Lou is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in American Express Travel Related Services Co. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gerstner Lou is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gerstner Lou 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gerstner Lou 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gerstner Lou has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gerstner Lou 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Gerstner Lou is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Gerstner Lou is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the American Express Travel Related Services Co. are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Training and development
– Gerstner Lou has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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.
Weaknesses American Express Travel Related Services Co. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of American Express Travel Related Services Co. are -
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Gerstner Lou 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Gerstner Lou 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study American Express Travel Related Services Co., is just above the industry average. Gerstner Lou needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study American Express Travel Related Services Co., in the dynamic environment Gerstner Lou has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Gerstner Lou has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Gerstner Lou 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 - American Express Travel Related Services Co. should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Gerstner Lou supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - American Express Travel Related Services Co., it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gerstner Lou vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gerstner Lou is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gerstner Lou 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As American Express Travel Related Services Co. HBR case study mentions - Gerstner Lou 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Gerstner Lou needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Lack of clear differentiation of Gerstner Lou products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gerstner Lou needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities American Express Travel Related Services Co. | 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Gerstner Lou is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gerstner Lou 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Gerstner Lou 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.
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 Gerstner Lou in the consumer business. Now Gerstner Lou 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 Gerstner Lou has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gerstner Lou to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the American Express Travel Related Services Co. case study. Gerstner Lou can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gerstner Lou in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Gerstner Lou can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Gerstner Lou operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Gerstner Lou 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gerstner Lou to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Gerstner Lou can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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.
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 Gerstner Lou 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gerstner Lou to increase its market reach. Gerstner Lou 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.
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. Gerstner Lou 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. Gerstner Lou 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.
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. Gerstner Lou can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats American Express Travel Related Services Co. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study American Express Travel Related Services Co. are -
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 Gerstner Lou in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co., Gerstner Lou 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Gerstner Lou 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gerstner Lou 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.
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. Gerstner Lou needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Gerstner Lou
– 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 Gerstner Lou.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gerstner Lou 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. .
Regulatory challenges
– Gerstner Lou 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.
Environmental challenges
– Gerstner Lou 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. Gerstner Lou can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
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 Gerstner Lou business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Gerstner Lou can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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. Gerstner Lou 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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 American Express Travel Related Services Co. 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 Gerstner Lou needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
