ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family
The ATF case is a succinct opportunity to explore the many special features of leadership succession for a family business. In 2009 the company was passing the baton to the oldest of three sons in the second-generation family business. ATF produced metal and plastic fasteners for, primarily, the automotive industry. ATF had grown into a company with more than $50 million in annual revenues. The company had grown in large part through alliances with other family businesses around the world. First-generation patriarch Don Surber had led the company since he acquired it in 1982. Don was known for his charismatic leadership style and his focus on driving value through a network approach. The case traces the career paths of all three sons and looks at the succession through the eyes of the oldest son, Jason Surber. The elements, constituents, and challenges of succession are evident. The fundamental insight is that business leadership succession is far more than just passing the business leadership baton. It also requires attention to the family, the board, the whole system of external stakeholders, and the future of ownership. The epilogue in this note covers the period from 2009 to 2012 by describing what Jason did to earn credibility, to incorporate his brothers, and to define his personal leadership philosophy and style. The epilogue thus provides students with an opportunity to consider and define their own personal philosophy of management leadership and their own style. They will see the art of melding styles from the past with their own for the future.
Authors :: John L. Ward, Brent C. Stern, Carol Adler Zsolnay, Sachin Waikar
Swot Analysis of "ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family" written by John L. Ward, Brent C. Stern, Carol Adler Zsolnay, Sachin Waikar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Atf Succession facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Managing people, Succession planning and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Atf Succession, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Atf Succession 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Atf Succession
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 Atf Succession
Strengths ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Atf Succession in ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Atf Succession 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.
Learning organization
- Atf Succession 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 Atf Succession is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Atf Succession is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Atf Succession is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High brand equity
– Atf Succession has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Atf Succession to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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.
Training and development
– Atf Succession has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Atf Succession is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Atf Succession has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Atf Succession 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.
Organizational Resilience of Atf Succession
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Atf Succession does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Atf Succession to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Atf Succession to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Atf Succession 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family are -
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Atf Succession is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Atf Succession 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family, in the dynamic environment Atf Succession has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Atf Succession has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Atf Succession is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Atf Succession 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Atf Succession 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Atf Succession, firm in the HBR case study ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Atf Succession supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Atf Succession vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family HBR case study mentions - Atf Succession 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, John L. Ward, Brent C. Stern, Carol Adler Zsolnay, Sachin Waikar suggests that, Atf Succession 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family, is just above the industry average. Atf Succession 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.
Opportunities ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family | 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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, Atf Succession can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Atf Succession operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Atf Succession is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Atf Succession 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Atf Succession 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Atf Succession to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Atf Succession in the consumer business. Now Atf Succession 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 Atf Succession to increase its market reach. Atf Succession 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Atf Succession 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 Atf Succession to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Atf Succession 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Atf Succession can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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 Atf Succession has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Atf Succession to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family case study. Atf Succession can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Atf Succession 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Atf Succession 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, ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Atf Succession can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family are -
Regulatory challenges
– Atf Succession 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Atf Succession is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Atf Succession needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family, Atf Succession 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 .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Atf Succession with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Atf Succession in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline 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 Atf Succession business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Atf Succession
– 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 Atf Succession.
Environmental challenges
– Atf Succession 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. Atf Succession can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Atf Succession 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Atf Succession has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Atf Succession 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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 ATF, Inc.: Fasteners and Family 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 Atf Succession needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
