J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions
As one of the larger and older family-held companies in the US, the J.M. Huber family business had strategically repositioned itself several times since it was founded in 1883. Visionary family leaders and a committed senior management team had transformed the group into an international player with leadership positions in niche markets in its various business portfolios. In 1993 the fourth generation of the family took over leadership of the company: Peter T. Francis became Chairman and CEO. He set a lofty goal for his tenure: "By the year 2010 J.M. Huber will be acknowledged as one of the best run companies in the United States". But times were not always kind. Several years after the company had levered up its balance sheet to complete the largest acquisition in its history, the economic crisis of 2007 hit many of its key markets hard, putting the group under pressure. With the crisis in fl bloom, Huber also faced another significant milestone in its 125-year-old history: the succession of Peter Francis. But true to form, the family rallied behind the company and turned this difficult moment into an opportunity to show its mettle. The Board of Directors did not shy away from the process and selected a non-family executive, Mike Marberry, as the next CEO. How did the Board support him as he took the reins in the midst of the global recession? And how did the family engaged fully with him and, based on his skillful execution, came to trust his vision for the future? After all, the firm had always succeeded in hard times, and they all wanted it be the case again. Learning objectives: Managing the family business and education of the next generation; owner's roles, family governance, family council, inclusiveness, succession process.
Swot Analysis of "J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions" written by Benoit Leleux, Anne Catrin Glemser includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Family Huber facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Organizational culture, Social enterprise, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Family Huber, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Family Huber 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Family Huber
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Family Huber
Strengths J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Family Huber in J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Family Huber 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Family Huber
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Family Huber does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Family Huber 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 Family Huber is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Family Huber in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Family Huber has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions 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 Family Huber 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Family Huber has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Family Huber 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Family Huber in the sector have low bargaining power. J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Family Huber to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Family Huber has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Family Huber to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Family Huber 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.
Analytics focus
– Family Huber 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 Benoit Leleux, Anne Catrin Glemser 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Family Huber 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 Family Huber in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions, it seems that the employees of Family Huber 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions 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 Family Huber 's lucrative customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions, is just above the industry average. Family Huber 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Family Huber 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Family Huber 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Family Huber is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Family Huber needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Family Huber to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Benoit Leleux, Anne Catrin Glemser suggests that, Family Huber is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Family Huber is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Family Huber 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 Family Huber supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Family Huber vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions | 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Family Huber 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Family Huber 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Family Huber can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Family Huber 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 Family Huber to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Family Huber 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Family Huber can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Family Huber operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Family Huber in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Loyalty marketing
– Family Huber has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– Family Huber can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Family Huber 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Family Huber 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, J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Family Huber can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Family Huber to increase its market reach. Family Huber 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Family Huber in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Family Huber 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, Family Huber 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Family Huber has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Family Huber needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
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 Family Huber business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Family Huber
– 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 Family Huber.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions, Family Huber may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
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. Family Huber 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Family Huber 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.
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Family Huber with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Family Huber in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Family Huber 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions 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 J.M. Huber: A Family of Solutions 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 Family Huber needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
