WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
Charged with growing annual revenues by US$10 million over the next five years (2012-2017), half of which was to come from Latin America, Doug Quackenbos, head of global business development at Walter Meier Manufacturing Inc. had undertaken extensive market research to identify the best new international market opportunities for Walter Meier's JET brand of industrial products and metalworking and woodworking machinery.Specifically he identified Brazil as an attractive new market for expansion. Success would hinge on developing the right market-entry strategy. To that end, four foreign market entry options were identified: 1) Greenfield company-owned distribution strategy; 2) Partner with a Brazilian master distributor; 3) Acquire or form a joint venture (JV) with a Brazilian tool distributor; 4) Acquire or form a joint venture with a Brazilian tool manufacturer. Quackenbos would have to sell a strategic vision for growth that was not resource-intensive - a challenge for a mid-size player in a market filled with a range of regional and national competitors. Based on what he was about to propose, and against the backdrop of a soft, recessionary global industrial economic environment, Walter Meier's executive team would question the merits of expanding into new emerging markets, the attractiveness of Latin America, and specifically the advantages of entering Brazil. The case provides background information on the company and the metal and woodworking machinery markets and competition in each of them. Walter Meier's international expansion aspirations are described, and the process for identifying Brazil as a new market for expansion is explained. The case concludes with the trigger issue of which foreign market entry mode will work best for Walter Meier in Brazil. A supplemental 10-minute video interview is also available. The video captures Doug Quackenbos's views on the international business development opportunities and challenges for a medium-size company, how he gathers market intelligence and manages uncertainty, and what he foresees for Walter Meier in Latin America and Brazil. Learning objectives: (1) Foreign market attractiveness, in particular the pursuit of opportunistic growth strategies; (2) Challenges medium size companies in business-to-business markets face when seeking growth internationally; (3) Opportunities and threats in entering emerging "BRIC" markets; (4) Evaluation of foreign market entry modes; (5) Securing distribution in new international markets.
Swot Analysis of "WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION" written by Martin Roth, Dominique Turpin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Walter Meier facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, wage bills are increasing, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Walter Meier, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Walter Meier 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Walter Meier
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 Walter Meier
Strengths WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Walter Meier in WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION Harvard Business Review case study are -
Learning organization
- Walter Meier 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 Walter Meier is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Walter Meier is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Walter Meier digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Walter Meier 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 Walter Meier
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Walter Meier does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Walter Meier 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Innovation driven organization
– Walter Meier is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Walter Meier to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Walter Meier to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Walter Meier 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Walter Meier has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Walter Meier 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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
– Walter Meier has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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
– Walter Meier is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Walter Meier is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, in the dynamic environment Walter Meier has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Walter Meier has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Walter Meier 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Walter Meier is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Walter Meier needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Walter Meier to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Martin Roth, Dominique Turpin suggests that, Walter Meier 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, is just above the industry average. Walter Meier 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Walter Meier is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, it seems that the employees of Walter Meier don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Need for greater diversity
– Walter Meier 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.
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 Walter Meier supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Walter Meier vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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 Walter Meier has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION | 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Walter Meier has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Walter Meier to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION case study. Walter Meier 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 Walter Meier 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
– Walter Meier can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Walter Meier can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Walter Meier operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Walter Meier 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Walter Meier to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Walter Meier to increase its market reach. Walter Meier 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Walter Meier 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.
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. Walter Meier can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Walter Meier can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Walter Meier 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Walter Meier 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Walter Meier in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Walter Meier 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.
Threats WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION are -
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. Walter Meier can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Walter Meier 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.
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 Walter Meier.
Environmental challenges
– Walter Meier 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. Walter Meier can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Walter Meier 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION .
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.
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 Walter Meier in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Walter Meier 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Walter Meier has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Walter Meier 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.
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. Walter Meier needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Walter Meier 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, Walter Meier 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 Walter Meier with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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 WALTER MEIER: JET INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION 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 Walter Meier needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
