Case Study Description of BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality
Arthur Andersen collapsed in May 2002 and a significant part of Arthur Andersen India merged with Ernst & Young. Bobby Parikh, Mukesh Butani, Rajiv Dimri, Sanjay Mehta and Ajay Mehra, all of whom were senior leaders at Arthur Anderson, had joined Ernst & Young after the merger in various roles; however, they left one by one to establish a firm in their chosen practice areas, which would be differentiated by quality of thinking and enable clients to experience a different way of engagement execution. Thus, BMR Advisors was started to provide high quality professional services; wherein it wanted to differentiate itself and compete solely on quality. BMR started with services in three areas - Tax, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and Risk Advisory - a unique combination which could solve any business problem. Audit services and management consulting were deliberately not offered. BMR focused on maintaining a low leverage ratio, that is, the number of team members per partner, to ensure higher amount of partner time on each assignment. BMR Advisors thus far had achieved success with its low leverage ratio, that is, partner to team members' ratio, which in turn had ensured higher quality of strategic inputs to complex client engagements and higher amount of partner face time with clients. With increased growth in recent times, maintaining a lower leverage ratio was becoming a challenge, since growth entailed more engagements and needed additional team members, which in turn diluted the leverage ratio. New partners had joined from other organization and ensuring a seamless integration of culture was another challenge. Developing the next set of leaders to take over the mantle from the founding partners was one more challenge to be dealt with. Besides these unique challenges, BMR advisors also faced regular challenges such as talent war, technology, undercutting by competition, etc.
Swot Analysis of "BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality" written by Suhruta Kulkarni, Dinesh Kumar Unnikrishnan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bmr Ratio facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions, Risk management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing energy prices,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bmr Ratio, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bmr Ratio 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bmr Ratio
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 Bmr Ratio
Strengths BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bmr Ratio in BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bmr Ratio to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bmr Ratio to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Bmr Ratio 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.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bmr Ratio digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bmr Ratio 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.
Organizational Resilience of Bmr Ratio
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bmr Ratio 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 Bmr Ratio in the sector have low bargaining power. BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bmr Ratio to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Bmr Ratio has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Bmr Ratio to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Bmr Ratio in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Analytics focus
– Bmr Ratio 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 Suhruta Kulkarni, Dinesh Kumar Unnikrishnan 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Bmr Ratio 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Bmr Ratio 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bmr Ratio is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bmr Ratio, firm in the HBR case study BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bmr Ratio 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 - BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Bmr Ratio 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. Bmr Ratio even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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 Bmr Ratio has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality HBR case study mentions - Bmr Ratio 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Suhruta Kulkarni, Dinesh Kumar Unnikrishnan suggests that, Bmr Ratio 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality, 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality, in the dynamic environment Bmr Ratio has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bmr Ratio has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
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 Bmr Ratio supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Bmr Ratio vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bmr Ratio has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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 Bmr Ratio 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality | 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bmr Ratio can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bmr Ratio operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Bmr Ratio 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, BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Bmr Ratio in the consumer business. Now Bmr Ratio can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Bmr Ratio to increase its market reach. Bmr Ratio 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Bmr Ratio can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Manufacturing automation
– Bmr Ratio 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.
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 Bmr Ratio 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bmr Ratio is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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. Bmr Ratio can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bmr Ratio 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bmr Ratio to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Bmr Ratio 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Bmr Ratio can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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 Bmr Ratio has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bmr Ratio to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality case study. Bmr Ratio can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bmr Ratio with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Regulatory challenges
– Bmr Ratio 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.
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. Bmr Ratio 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.
Increasing wage structure of Bmr Ratio
– 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 Bmr Ratio.
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 Bmr Ratio in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
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 Bmr Ratio business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Bmr Ratio.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bmr Ratio 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.
Environmental challenges
– Bmr Ratio 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. Bmr Ratio can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Bmr Ratio demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Bmr Ratio has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Bmr Ratio 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 international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Bmr Ratio 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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 BMR Advisors - Competing on Quality 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 Bmr Ratio needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
