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Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution


April 2013, Leuven (Belgium). Sitting behind his desk at the Headquarters of Materialise, the company he founded and still led as CEO, Wilfried Vancraen reminisced about the exciting last few years. It had taken 20 years to lead the company from pioneer in 3D printing technology to the ultimate industry accolade, the receipt in 2011 of the RTAM Industry Achievement Award for the extensive contributions the firm had made to additive manufacturing. Revenues reached the $90 million mark in 2013, with 1,000+ employees. The company was broadly diversified, catering to different markets in both B2B and B2C sectors and was a clear market leader in applications such as software for additive manufacturing and biomedical engineering, as well as in biomedical 3D printing activities. But the competitive landscape was evolving quickly. Many new service bureaus were opening up. Hype about 3D printing was growing in the media. The barriers to entry (technological and financial) were, but becoming steeper in machine and material manufacturing. Vertical integration was starting to appear with big 3D printing machine manufacturers starting to acquire service providers, software developers and material manufacturers. It was a bit early to judge the effectiveness and long-term effects of this emerging trend. Further consolidation was clearly in sight. For Materialise, the options were numerous. It could become the consolidator, acquiring and merging into other players. But with its unique portfolio of competencies and activities, it could as easily become a seller in the process. It could also continue to grow independently. There was also the issue of whether it should seek further financing from the public in an IPO. Being an established prized player in the industry opened up many opportunities...

Authors :: Benoit Leleux, Mazen Zein

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Manufacturing, Technology, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution" written by Benoit Leleux, Mazen Zein includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that 3d Printing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Manufacturing, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the 3d Printing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which 3d Printing 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of 3d Printing
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 3d Printing




Strengths Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of 3d Printing in Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution Harvard Business Review case study are -

Ability to recruit top talent

– 3d Printing is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For 3d Printing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. 3d Printing has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled 3d Printing to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped 3d Printing to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Learning organization

- 3d Printing 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 3d Printing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Highly skilled collaborators

– 3d Printing 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field

– 3d Printing 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 3d Printing in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that 3d Printing 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of 3d Printing in the sector have low bargaining power. Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps 3d Printing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of 3d Printing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– 3d Printing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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.

Training and development

– 3d Printing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.






Weaknesses Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution are -

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of 3d Printing is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. 3d Printing needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help 3d Printing to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

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 3d Printing supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left 3d Printing vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, 3d Printing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, 3d Printing 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as 3d Printing is planning to shift buying processes online.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

3d Printing 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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution, is just above the industry average. 3d Printing 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution HBR case study mentions - 3d Printing 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution, it seems that the employees of 3d Printing 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution, in the dynamic environment 3d Printing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. 3d Printing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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 3d Printing has relatively successful track record of launching new products.




Opportunities Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution | 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution are -

Developing new processes and practices

– 3d Printing 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for 3d Printing 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 3d Printing 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, 3d Printing 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.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. 3d Printing 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. 3d Printing 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of 3d Printing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help 3d Printing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution case study. 3d Printing can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, 3d Printing 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, Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for 3d Printing 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.

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. 3d Printing 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 3d Printing to increase its market reach. 3d Printing 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, 3d Printing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that 3d Printing operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– 3d Printing has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help 3d Printing to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects 3d Printing can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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 3d Printing 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.




Threats Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution are -

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. 3d Printing 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.

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. 3d Printing needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Increasing wage structure of 3d Printing

– 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 3d Printing.

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, 3d Printing 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution .

Regulatory challenges

– 3d Printing 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 Leadership & Managing People 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 3d Printing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– 3d Printing 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on 3d Printing 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents 3d Printing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– 3d Printing 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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. 3d Printing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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 Materialise: Supporting the 3D Printing Revolution 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 3d Printing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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