Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy
Prosperous and growth-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - generally defined as firms with fewer than 500 employees -- are vital to an economy's health. In our increasingly borderless digital society, the most promising growth opportunities for SMEs tend to lie in foreign markets. But doing business in foreign markets can be both difficult and costly, and as a result, most choose to operate domestically. But the authors argue that the opportunities far outweigh the risks. They encourage SMEs to take the plunge, describing the three challenges that digital markets present and how to build a reputation online beyond a firm's borders.
Swot Analysis of "Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy" written by Rebecca Reuber, Eileen Fischer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Smes Digital facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Marketing, Sales, Strategy and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Smes Digital, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Smes Digital 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 Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Smes Digital
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 Smes Digital
Strengths Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Smes Digital in Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Smes Digital
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Smes Digital does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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
– Smes Digital is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Smes Digital 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 Smes Digital in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Smes Digital is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Smes Digital 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 Smes Digital is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Smes Digital has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Smes Digital to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Smes Digital 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Smes Digital 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 Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Smes Digital is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Smes Digital is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Smes Digital in the sector have low bargaining power. Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Smes Digital to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Smes Digital 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. Smes Digital 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Smes Digital 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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 Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Smes Digital is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Smes Digital supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Smes Digital vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy, 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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 Smes Digital 's lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Smes Digital 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 - Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rebecca Reuber, Eileen Fischer suggests that, Smes Digital 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Smes Digital products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Smes Digital needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Smes Digital has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Smes Digital, firm in the HBR case study Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy | 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 Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Smes Digital 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
– Smes Digital can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Smes Digital to increase its market reach. Smes Digital 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Smes Digital 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Smes Digital 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.
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 Smes Digital in the consumer business. Now Smes Digital can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Smes Digital 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. Smes Digital 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Smes Digital 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 Smes Digital to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Smes Digital can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Smes Digital 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Smes Digital 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Smes Digital 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Smes Digital has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Smes Digital to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy case study. Smes Digital can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy are -
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 Smes Digital
– 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 Smes Digital.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Smes Digital can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Smes Digital 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.
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 Smes Digital.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy, Smes Digital 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Smes Digital is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Smes Digital has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Smes Digital 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.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Smes Digital 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.
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 Smes Digital in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Environmental challenges
– Smes Digital 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. Smes Digital can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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. Smes Digital needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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 Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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 Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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 Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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 Going Digital: Building International Sales in a Digital Economy 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 Smes Digital needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
