Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express
This case concerns an executive who must estimate the demand for Kodak Express outlets in various developing countries based on socioeconomic and demographic data about the countries. The case requires students to think about how to transform data on a national scale (GDP per capita, population, income distribution) into a form that is meaningful for a managerial decision -- the number of outlets that could be supported by a country's market demographics. In this instance, doing so can be accomplished effectively through modeling on a spreadsheet.The purposes of the case are to show the relation between national statistics and company decisions and to give students training in conceptualizing a problem and modeling the analysis on a spreadsheet. The analyst is required to estimate the potential market demand for Kodak Express.
Swot Analysis of "Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express" written by David Currie, Ilan Alon includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kodak Express facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Economics, Emerging markets, Marketing and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
geopolitical disruptions, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kodak Express, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kodak Express
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 Kodak Express
Strengths Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kodak Express in Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kodak Express is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Kodak Express is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kodak Express has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kodak Express 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.
Organizational Resilience of Kodak Express
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kodak Express does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kodak Express 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kodak Express to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kodak Express to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Kodak Express has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Kodak Express 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Kodak Express 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 Kodak Express in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Kodak Express 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 David Currie, Ilan Alon 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.
High brand equity
– Kodak Express has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Kodak Express to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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 Kodak Express 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kodak Express 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 - Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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, Kodak Express is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kodak Express is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Kodak Express needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kodak Express to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Kodak Express 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Kodak Express 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Kodak Express 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Kodak Express is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Kodak Express supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Kodak Express vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kodak Express 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.
Opportunities Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express | 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Kodak Express 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. Kodak Express can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Kodak Express 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kodak Express 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Kodak Express 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kodak Express 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 Kodak Express to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Kodak Express 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.
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 Kodak Express 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, Kodak Express 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, Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Kodak Express 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. Kodak Express 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Kodak Express can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kodak Express operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Kodak Express 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Kodak Express 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express .
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. Kodak Express 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kodak Express 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.
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 Kodak Express in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 Kodak Express 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. Kodak Express can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Kodak Express is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kodak Express has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kodak Express 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.
Environmental challenges
– Kodak Express 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. Kodak Express can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Kodak Express 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express, Kodak Express 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 .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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 Estimating Demand in Emerging Markets for Kodak Express 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 Kodak Express needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
