RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel
Presents a three-way version of the RetailMax simulation requiring students to enact an internal salary negotiation, taking on the roles of Cam Archer, a star employee, and Regan Kessel, a VP trying to attract the MBA into his department. However, RetailSoft introduces a third party, Sydney Masser, to illustrate the effects of negotiating for self vs. others. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise.
Authors :: Dina Witter, Hannah Riley Bowles, Kathleen L. McGinn
Swot Analysis of "RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel" written by Dina Witter, Hannah Riley Bowles, Kathleen L. McGinn includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Retailsoft Kessel facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Compensation, Decision making, Developing employees, Negotiations, Technology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Retailsoft Kessel, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Retailsoft Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Retailsoft Kessel
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 Retailsoft Kessel
Strengths RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Retailsoft Kessel in RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Retailsoft Kessel is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Retailsoft Kessel has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Retailsoft Kessel 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.
High brand equity
– Retailsoft Kessel has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Retailsoft Kessel to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Retailsoft Kessel 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 Retailsoft Kessel is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Retailsoft Kessel is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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
– Retailsoft Kessel has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Retailsoft Kessel digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Retailsoft Kessel is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Retailsoft Kessel in the sector have low bargaining power. RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Retailsoft Kessel to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Retailsoft Kessel 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
– Retailsoft Kessel 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 Dina Witter, Hannah Riley Bowles, Kathleen L. McGinn 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.
Weaknesses RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel, in the dynamic environment Retailsoft Kessel has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Retailsoft Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel, is just above the industry average. Retailsoft Kessel 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
– Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Retailsoft Kessel 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. Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Retailsoft Kessel has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Retailsoft Kessel supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Retailsoft Kessel vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Retailsoft Kessel is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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 Retailsoft Kessel has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Retailsoft Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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 Retailsoft Kessel 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel | 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Retailsoft Kessel is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
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. Retailsoft Kessel can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Retailsoft Kessel can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Retailsoft Kessel 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, RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Retailsoft Kessel can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Retailsoft Kessel operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Retailsoft Kessel 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 Retailsoft Kessel to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Retailsoft Kessel 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.
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. Retailsoft Kessel 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. Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Retailsoft Kessel 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.
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 Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Retailsoft Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Retailsoft Kessel to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Retailsoft Kessel with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Retailsoft Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Retailsoft Kessel 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.
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 Retailsoft Kessel in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Retailsoft Kessel 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.
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 Retailsoft Kessel business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel, Retailsoft Kessel 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 .
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 Retailsoft Kessel.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Retailsoft Kessel has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Increasing wage structure of Retailsoft Kessel
– 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 Retailsoft Kessel.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Retailsoft Kessel is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Retailsoft Kessel 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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 RetailSoft: Role for Regan Kessel 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 Retailsoft Kessel needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.