Case Study Report: Strategic Intelligence and Analytics Analysis

This report delves into the realm of strategic intelligence and analytics, utilizing four case studies to illustrate their significance in the contemporary business landscape. The report emphasizes the importance of in-depth information gathering through thorough investigations. Strategic intelligence is presented as a crucial tool for evaluating potential solutions and selecting the optimal strategies to mitigate identified issues. Furthermore, the report highlights the necessity of measuring the effectiveness of implemented strategies. The role of technological advancements and innovation is underscored as pivotal factors for business survival and growth. The case studies encompass a diverse range of topics, including smart cities, the future of artificial intelligence, a SWOT analysis of the fitness sector, and a Porter's five forces analysis of Woolworths. The report concludes with a summary of findings, recommendations, and a comprehensive reference list.

Running Head: Strategic Intelligence And Analytics
STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE AND ANALYTICS

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Strategic Intelligence And Analytics
Abstract
Four case studies have been focused in this essay to explain strategic intelligence and
its importance in today's business world. It has been mentioned that issues must be
investigated for gathering in-depth information. Strategic intelligence support evaluation of
available solutions and choosing the best solution for mitigating the issues. It is important to
measure the effectiveness of identified strategies after implementing it. Internal and external
business growth depends on strategic intelligence. This essay has mentioned that
technological advancement and innovation are two important factors that help businesses to
survive. At the end of this essay, a conclusion and recommendations have been added.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Smart cities.................................................................................................................................4
The future: Artificial Intelligence..............................................................................................5
SWOT analysis of Fitness sector...............................................................................................7
Porter’s five forces analysis of Woolworths..............................................................................8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
Recommendation......................................................................................................................10
Reference list............................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Strategic intelligence helps to analyze and solve business issues. It allows researching
and gathering information regarding issues and find relevant alternatives. Based on the
evaluation of alternatives, the most appropriate one can be selected for mitigating the
identified issue. In this study, four different case studies are being reviewed based on
strategic intelligence and its use.
Smart cities
Investigation about smart cities
i. Several trends are that are being followed by different countries and this approach is
helping cities to become smart cities (News.itu.int, 2017). Smart cities are present throughout
the World and few examples are mentioned below,
● In Australia, top five smart cities are Adelaide, Brisbane, Canterbury-Bankstown and
Sunshine Coast.
● In UK, Top 5 Smart cities are London, Bristol, Bringham, Manchester, and Leeds.
● In Malaysia, 4 Smart Cities are Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Johor
Bahru
ii. Among all these cities, Brisbane is selected for review. This city has focused on
technological advancement to become a smart city in Australia.
iii. The aim of the Brisbane City Council is to involve, businesses, residents, start-ups, and
universities in technological development to ensure prosperity, sustainability, and livability
(Brisbane.qld.gov.au, 2019). Free Wi-fi is there for public in Brisbane and a digital literacy
program has been introduced. In this smart city, intelligent transportation system is there.
This technological advancement in this city is denoting the dedication of the Brisbane City
Council towards the transformation of this city into a smart city. This council has invested
near about $5 million to support innovation hub and start-ups. They are helping businesses to

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develop new solutions and experiences for customers. Brisbane is the first Australian country
that has successfully implemented a large-scale Bluetooth monitoring system. The council
has released a total of 130 data sets to support the communities and organizations in this
regard. Approximately 3500 school students have been trained in coding (Cio.com.au, 2018).
iv. In Brisbane, the government is able to ensure data-driven decision making. The
technological advancements have helped the government to monitor and manage all
operations within this place. Organizations are getting support from the government in terms
of innovation and technological advancement. On the other hand, Chen, Hui, Lang & Tao
(2016) have mentioned that communities are getting safety and advanced facilities that can
help them to improve their lifestyles. Improved transportation and reduced level of
environmental footprint are allowing individuals to lead a prosperous lifestyle in a Smart city
like Brisbane.
v. Smart city face risk related to security and privacy of data. Technologies can be hacked
easily and data can be leaked easily in smart cities. On the other hand, technologies are
limited to the pre-commercial stage. It is difficult to implement technologies related to
capacity and skills. A limited budget can be considered as a limitation for government to
maintain a smart city.
The future: Artificial Intelligence
1. Explanation of technologies
Smart homes: At present different home technology is not that smart however many
household items are connected to the internet. Technology is improving at a faster rate, which
can enable users to use more data and connectivity in homes. Smart lighting, smart control of
heating remote door locks and electrical appliances are some parts of smart homes.
Virtual secretaries: A crucial role in business is played by secretaries and a large part
of time is spent while making a schedule of tasks. However, smart secretaries like

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doodle.com can compare availability of a person to find the best time for meeting, which
saves time (Theconversation.com, 2017).
AI doctors: AI technology can be improved further to conduct a proper diagnosis and
deliver healthcare facilities. Different software like IBM Watson help clinicians to analyze
patient data and take proper decisions (Theconversation.com, 2017).
Care robots: robots that are equipped with different advanced systems like face
recognition, voice can successfully interact with visitors. After proper verification, robots can
provide access to the visitor, which improves standard of living by increasing security.
Flying warehouses and self-driving cars: self-driving cars are currently under
process and investigation is going on. This vehicle can be safer than human-guided vehicles
and chance of accidents can be reduced. Moreover, the process of delivery of products will be
smoother in future by inclusion of flying warehouses. Amazon has filed a patent for this
device that can fly to a place where demand for a product is high.
2. AI technologies to be a part of future
These technologies can be an integral part of human lives in the future. Different jobs
in certain industries like hospitality, healthcare, marketing, and accounting will be replaced
by AI technologies (Russell & Norvig, 2016). In future, ability of humans can increase by
associating with AI technologies and thus effectiveness of human performance will increase.
However, inclusion of AI can cause job loss for many people which is a major problem
(Pewinternet.org, 2018).
3. Influence of AI in career
AI can help to increase opportunities in a career by eliminating human errors that can
strengthen competency of a worker. Hence, productivity and efficiency of an employee and
organization will increase. Moreover, Smith (2019), contradicted that the training and
development process will be automated in the future, which can personalize training courses

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by identifying skills and gaps. In addition, greater control of work and schedules can be
exerted by an employee through AI, which can help to improve career opportunities.
Knowledge workers can focus on the most engaging part of tier jobs with the help of AI.
SWOT analysis of Fitness sector
● Opportunities
Continuous professional development of trainers can help to increase trust and loyalty
of customers. As stated by Gibson, Wagner & Heyward (2018), long term loyalty can be
gained if a trainer plays a positive part during rehabilitation from injury. Greater work
satisfaction of trainers can lead to safer and geared injury prevention. Development of skills
of personal trainers like functional muscle training, postural assessment is another
opportunity. Greater assessment skills will lower the risk of training. Thus, greater skills of
trainers can cause fitness industry to bloom in the future.
Threats
It can be seen that drop out figure of trainers is 60% in the first 18 months. Hence, a
short term threat is high rate of fallout of trainers (Rehabtrainer.com.au, 2019). This is
occurring at a time when the demand for personal trainers is rising. This is impacting on
supply of trained and skilled trainers in this industry. The increased number of litigation is
another threat and a large number of trainers have to consult lawyers for gaining defense
from an injured client. This occurs due to low skill of trainers.
● Suggestions for internal development, external development, growth and
survival strategies
Following strategies may be followed by the fitness industry,
- The development of new skills and updating existing skills of personal trainers can
help this sector in internal development.

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- Cultural management is another strategy that can help this sector to continue internal
development. All stakeholders must be treated without cultural biases.
- More skilled trainers must be included within this industry to mitigate the short-term
threat and growth of this sector can be ensured by considering this suggestion.
- Complying with legal guidelines can help this sector to ensure external development
and the medium-term threat regarding this matter can be solved (Oravițan, 2018).
- For surviving, this sector needs to provide the best quality service to customers to
maintain a higher level of customer satisfaction.
Porter’s five forces analysis of Woolworths
1. Threats of new entrants (High)
New entries in the market bring in innovation that increases risks of Woolworths.
New entrants exert pressure on this company by providing new value propositions, reducing
operational costs and placing a new pricing strategy. Woolworths can handle these challenges
and build a proper barrier for gaining a competitive advantage. Strategy of innovativeness in
business process is suggested for this firm.
Actions
● Innovating new products and services can attract potential customers towards this
firm.
● Building economies of scale is an innovative action, which can help to lower the fixed
cost per unit.
● Spending more funds on research and development and building capacities can
increase competency of the company.
2. Bargaining power of customers (High)
In Australia, the increasing number of retail organizations is leading to a lower cost of
switching (Fabbri & Klapper, 2016). This fact is enhancing the bargaining power of

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customers in the retail sector. Woolworths is bound to set an affordable price of product and
maintain the quality. This company needs to increase the level of customer satisfaction for
being competitive.
Actions
● Communicating with customers to identify their needs and serving accordingly
● Implementing discount pricing approach
● Adhering to the feedback of customers to improve the quality of service and products
3. Risk from suppliers (Moderate)
Suppliers are in a dominant position that can cause lowering of earning of this
company. Powerful suppliers use negotiating power to extract high costs that impact the
company by increasing operational costs (Govindan, Rajendran, Sarkis & Murugesan (2015).
This can impose a high risk on business process of Woolworths and can impact their revenue.
Obtaining materials at a lower price from suppliers is the proposed strategy in this case.
Actions
● Communicating with suppliers to develop good business relation
● Informing suppliers about long-term business contract
● Thinking about more than one alternatives of suppliers
4. Threat of getting substituted (Moderate)
Competitors of Woolworths are selling similar products and it is a threat to their
business. If customers get similar products at a lower price, they can switch this company at
any time. For mitigating this threat, Woolworths needs to ensure the best quality in terms
of products.
Action
● Communicating with suppliers and shareholders to contribute to ensuring high-quality
products

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● Food products must be fresh and healthy
● Improvising suggestions of customers to modify products
5. Rivalry among competitors (high)
Woolworths faces tough competitions in the market. Competitors of this firm include
Tesco, coles Amazon, Walmart and others. A high level of competition forces to drive down
prices, which impacts on profitability of a company. Woolworths can adopt the strategy of
sustainability and collaboration to cope up with competitors.
Actions
● Collaborating with competitors can increase market size of this company
● Partnership with a small supplier firm can increase efficiency of product supply
● Sustainability in production can provide a competitive advantage.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that advanced technologies like artificial intelligence can help to
increase the capability of human workforce in future. Moreover, application of AI can help to
increase production of industry. Adequate skills and competencies help workforce to
implement organizational strategies successfully. Effective strategies framed by an
organization help them to achieve a competitive advantage in a market.
Recommendation
Following recommendations can help to solve issues and maintain sustainability,
❖ Gathering information regarding gaps in operations can help in developing strategies
to use strategic intelligence effectively.
❖ Investing time and budget in technological advancement to meet expectations of
target people
❖ Adding values to stakeholders by eradicating biases can help to improve business
performance.

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❖ Involving skilled and talented people in business can help to ensure innovation and
continuous development.

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Reference list
Brisbane.qld.gov.au. (2019). Smart, Connected Brisbane. Retrieved on 5th October 2019,
from: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/governance-and-strategy/
vision-and-strategy/smart-connected-brisbane
Chen, T., Hui, E. C. M., Lang, W., & Tao, L. (2016). People, recreational facility and
physical activity: New-type urbanization planning for the healthy communities in
China. Habitat International, 58, 12-22. Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197397516305495
Cio.com.au. (2018). 5 Australian cities battle for ‘smart city’ glory. Retrieved on 5th October
2019, from: https://www.cio.com.au/article/646152/5-australian-cities-battle-smart-
city-glory/
Fabbri, D., & Klapper, L. F. (2016). Bargaining power and trade credit. Journal of corporate
finance, 41, 66-80. Retrieved from: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/17179/1/Fabbri
%26Klapper_JCF00129.pdf
Gibson, A. L., Wagner, D., & Heyward, V. (2018). Advanced Fitness Assessment and
Exercise Prescription, 8E. Human kinetics.
Govindan, K., Rajendran, S., Sarkis, J., & Murugesan, P. (2015). Multi criteria decision
making approaches for green supplier evaluation and selection: a literature review.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 98, 66-83.Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965261300437X
News.itu.int. (2017). Top 5 trends for Smart Cities in 2018. Retrieved on 5th October 2019,
from: https://news.itu.int/top-five-trends-iot-smart-cities/