Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp.
Material requirements planning (MRP) systems have been widely used by manufacturing firms to maintain an optimum flow of inputs for best production results. By using an MRP system, a firm can prepare a production plan that specifies the number of sub-assemblies that go into the final products along with the exact timeline of an order, from placement to completion. This case analyzes how Sunita Menon's adoption of an MRP system at A-CAT Corp. (A-CAT) has improved the production-planning process. To make one unit of A-CAT's main product, P0110, requires two P0X units and two P0Y units; in addition, each P0X unit needs two types of subparts: four P1X1 units and three P1X2 units. The case examines the intricacies of procurement, warehousing and processing costs of various material components by critically evaluating different techniques in practice. Using situational scenarios, the case presents lot-sizing techniques - including lot for lot, economic order quantity, least total cost and least unit cost - for balancing costs such as set-up costs, ordering costs and inventory-holding costs.
Swot Analysis of "Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp." written by Jitendra R. Sharma, Tinu Agrawal includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mrp Cat facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Operations management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp.
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mrp Cat, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mrp Cat 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mrp Cat
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 Mrp Cat
Strengths Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mrp Cat in Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Mrp Cat 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mrp Cat to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mrp Cat to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mrp Cat is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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.
Learning organization
- Mrp Cat 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 Mrp Cat is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mrp Cat 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Mrp Cat 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 Mrp Cat in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Mrp Cat is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Mrp Cat 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Mrp Cat is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Organizational Resilience of Mrp Cat
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mrp Cat does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Mrp Cat in the sector have low bargaining power. Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Mrp Cat to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Mrp Cat is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Mrp Cat needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Mrp Cat to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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 Mrp Cat has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Mrp Cat, firm in the HBR case study Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp., in the dynamic environment Mrp Cat has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mrp Cat has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp., is just above the industry average. Mrp Cat 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mrp Cat products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mrp Cat needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Mrp Cat 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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 Mrp Cat 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp., it seems that the employees of Mrp Cat 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Jitendra R. Sharma, Tinu Agrawal suggests that, Mrp Cat 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mrp Cat 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.
Opportunities Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. | 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. are -
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. Mrp Cat 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. Mrp Cat can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mrp Cat can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mrp Cat operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Mrp Cat can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Mrp Cat can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mrp Cat has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mrp Cat to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. case study. Mrp Cat 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 Mrp Cat 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 Mrp Cat to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mrp Cat 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Mrp Cat 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Mrp Cat 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Mrp Cat 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Mrp Cat 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 Mrp Cat to increase its market reach. Mrp Cat 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mrp Cat 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mrp Cat to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. are -
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. Mrp Cat needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mrp Cat 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.
Increasing wage structure of Mrp Cat
– 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 Mrp Cat.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mrp Cat 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Mrp Cat with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mrp Cat is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mrp Cat 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.
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 Mrp Cat business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Mrp Cat 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.
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 Mrp Cat.
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. Mrp Cat 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.
Environmental challenges
– Mrp Cat 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. Mrp Cat can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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 Material Requirements Planning at A-Cat Corp. 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 Mrp Cat needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
