Case Study Description of GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin
"GPS-to-GO is a successful company that has a wealth of brilliant researchers and scientists who have created advanced global positioning systems (GPSs) for complex air-traffic control and logistics systems. Now, the vision of one of the up and coming managers is to use GPS-to-GO's knowledge to dominate the consumer market with premium-priced and feature-rich GPS units. Even though GPS-to-GO is far ahead in terms of GPS technology, the consumer market demands low-cost units and yearly follow-on products, which requires drastically different skills than GPS-to-GO's typical five- to 10-year cost-plus government projects. One of the managers is tasked with how to meet the cost target and market window for the new product, while working with the same engineering group that caused the unit manufacturing problem and launch delays in the first place. The key issues concern 1) engineering-centric companies and their culture, business strategies and processes for managing new product development 2) the implications these strategies and processes have on addressing the needs of customers, shareholders and employees in a totally new market segment 3) the role managers can play in making critical decisions with a keen eye on roadblocks to success, such as culture, inadequate skills and overly optimistic and myopic visionaries. The case includes an Excel spreadsheet with break-even scenarios that professors can use to complement the teaching note. The case is intended for courses in managing new product commercialization, managing technology and innovation, strategic thinking, operations management and leadership."
Swot Analysis of "GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin" written by Donald Pillittere includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gps Go's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Costs, Financial analysis, Managing people, Manufacturing, Marketing, Organizational culture and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gps Go's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gps Go's 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 GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gps Go's
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 Gps Go's
Strengths GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gps Go's in GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin Harvard Business Review case study are -
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gps Go's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gps Go's 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.
Training and development
– Gps Go's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Gps Go's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gps Go's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gps Go's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Gps Go's in the sector have low bargaining power. GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Gps Go's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Gps Go's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gps Go's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gps Go's 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.
Organizational Resilience of Gps Go's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Gps Go's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gps Go's 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 GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Gps Go's 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 Gps Go's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Gps Go's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gps Go's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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.
Weaknesses GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Gps Go's 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. Gps Go's 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.
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 Gps Go's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gps Go's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Gps Go's 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin, is just above the industry average. Gps Go's 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin HBR case study mentions - Gps Go's 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Gps Go's is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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 Gps Go's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gps Go's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Gps Go's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gps Go's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Gps Go's 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gps Go's 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Gps Go's, firm in the HBR case study GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin | 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 GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gps Go's 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Gps Go's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Gps Go's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Gps Go's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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 Gps Go's 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gps Go's 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Gps Go's 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.
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. Gps Go's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gps Go's to increase its market reach. Gps Go's 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Gps Go's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gps Go's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin case study. Gps Go's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gps Go's 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 Gps Go's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Gps Go's 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. Gps Go's 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. Gps Go's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Gps Go's can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin, Gps Go's 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 .
Regulatory challenges
– Gps Go's 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.
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 Gps Go's 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. Gps Go's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gps Go's 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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gps Go's 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.
Environmental challenges
– Gps Go's 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. Gps Go's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Gps Go's 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, Gps Go's 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 GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin .
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 Gps Go's in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Gps Go's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Gps Go's 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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 GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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 GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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 GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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 GPS-To-Go Takes on Garmin 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 Gps Go's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.