Case Study Description of Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream
Neil Kashyap and Neil Lombardo (HBS '08) acquired Winnan Metal, Inc., a metal fabrication shop, after raising a search fund and an 11 month search to fulfill their dreams of becoming business owners. Two weeks after they took control of the company, Winnan's largest customer (60% of company revenues) threatened to take its business elsewhere. One year later, they had regained the respect of their customers and won the trust of their employees to promote a new culture of empowerment and respect. They wondered how to prioritize options to grow the business as they did not want to spread themselves too thin.
Authors :: William R. Kerr, Jim Sharpe, James Weber
Swot Analysis of "Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream" written by William R. Kerr, Jim Sharpe, James Weber includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Winnan Metal facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making, Entrepreneurial management, Financial analysis, Manufacturing, Mergers & acquisitions, Organizational culture, Sales and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Winnan Metal, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Winnan Metal 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Winnan Metal
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 Winnan Metal
Strengths Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Winnan Metal in Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Winnan Metal has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Winnan Metal 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Winnan Metal is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Winnan Metal
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Winnan Metal does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Winnan Metal in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Winnan Metal 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Winnan Metal 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Winnan Metal 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 Winnan Metal is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Winnan Metal is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Winnan Metal 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 William R. Kerr, Jim Sharpe, James Weber 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.
Training and development
– Winnan Metal has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Winnan Metal 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.
Weaknesses Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream HBR case study mentions - Winnan Metal takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Winnan Metal supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Winnan Metal vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Winnan Metal 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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 Winnan Metal 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Winnan Metal 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Winnan Metal 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Winnan Metal is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Winnan Metal is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Winnan Metal needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Winnan Metal to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream, is just above the industry average. Winnan Metal 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream, it seems that the employees of Winnan Metal don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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 Winnan Metal has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream | 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Winnan Metal has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Winnan Metal to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream case study. Winnan Metal can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Winnan Metal can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Winnan Metal operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
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. Winnan Metal can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Winnan Metal 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Winnan Metal 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.
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. Winnan Metal 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. Winnan Metal 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.
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. Winnan Metal can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Winnan Metal 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Winnan Metal can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Winnan Metal 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Winnan Metal 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Winnan Metal can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Winnan Metal to increase its market reach. Winnan Metal 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.
Threats Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream are -
Regulatory challenges
– Winnan Metal 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.
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. Winnan Metal needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Winnan Metal with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Winnan Metal.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Winnan Metal 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Winnan Metal 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.
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 Winnan Metal business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Winnan Metal 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. Winnan Metal can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Winnan Metal has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Winnan Metal 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Winnan Metal 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 Winnan Metal
– 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 Winnan Metal.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Winnan Metal 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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 Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream 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 Winnan Metal needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
