ZOMOZOMO: FROM PLATFORM OPERATOR TO PROVIDER
CASE STUDY SOLUTION
e
pl
m
SYNOPSIS
Sa
ZOMOZOMO was founded in September 2016 in Beijing, China. In its early days, the company conducted
business mainly through its gamified freelancers’ platform, where customers could request brand, culture
creation, space, and exhibition designs. Designers could then offer designs that would be reviewed, chosen, and
rewarded, which eliminated some of the longstanding troubles within the industry, such as inefficiency,
fragmentation, and lack of transparency. This soon made the company a prominent player in the design industry.
n
During its first four years of operation, the company witnessed the rapid expansion and diversification of its
tio
client base, which began to include many influential brands, such as Amazon, Nike, and Huawei.
With the alteration of ZOMOZOMO’s clientele makeup, the company—as a platform operator—began to
lu
find it increasingly challenging to meet the needs and requirements of its high-end clients in terms of
response time, service quality control, and confidentiality. By enlarging its business scope, developing its
So
supply chain, and tightening its service quality control, ZOMOZOMO was able to boost its capabilities to
deliver whole package design solutions. However, in February 2020, ZOMOZOMO faced rising
management costs, increasingly complex management work, and instability in its existing supply chain, as
well as a lack of experience in team building. ZOMOZOMO needed to determine whether the company
should prioritize building its internal capabilities or seek external partnerships to deliver high-quality design
solutions to its high-end clients.
OBJECTIVES
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
,• analyze a company’s external environment and internal resources to make strategic decisions that align
with the company’s strength and objectives;
• identify all the company’s dilemmas and challenges in the strategic change;
• come up with a detailed implementation strategy and specific actions that need to be taken; and
• evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of two strategic change plans and determine the best approach to
solve the current problem while meeting the needs and expectations of clients.
e
pl
m
Sa
n
tio
lu
So
ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. Why did ZOMOZOMO want a strategic change?
2. What were the main challenges encountered by ZOMOZOMO in its strategic change?
3. What factors should ZOMOZOMO consider when deciding between enhancing its internal capabilities
versus establishing external collaborations to deliver comprehensive design solutions?
4. Should ZOMOZOMO prioritize investing in internal resources and capabilities or seek external
partnerships and collaborations to deliver on its new positioning?
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
,ANALYSIS
1. Why did ZOMOZOMO want a strategic change?
A strategic change is a systematic change to a number of key elements of a company’s strategy, e.g.,
strategic positioning, competition means, and roles. It can be driven by various internal and external factors.
e
Externally, in order to survive and grow, a company must always be alert and adapt to political, economic,
technological, social, cultural, and market changes quickly. Internally, such factors as core capabilities,
pl
resources and strengths, and corporate culture can also prompt a company to change strategically. In the
case of ZOMOZOMO, the strategic change was motivated by two needs: the need to adapt to the external
m
macro environment and the need to build internal core capabilities over its competitors.
Sa
External Macro Environment
As far as the external macro environment is concerned, the motivations behind ZOMOZOMO’s strategic
change were mainly economic and social.
n
• Economic Environment: Due to the advancement of Chinese society as a whole, China’s powerful
tio
economic growth in recent years, and the upgrade of its economy, more and more companies began to
realize the importance of creative design in product development and branding. Corporate creative
design services were no longer limited to logo design and visual communication. They kept expanding
lu
and diversifying and began to cover architectural design, interior design, industrial design, and even
apparel design. This ensured a rapidly growing market with huge potential.
So
•
Internal Micro Catalysts
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
, EXHIBIT -1: A PRE-CHANGE SWOT ANALYSIS OF ZOMOZOMO
Strengths (S) Weaknesses (W)
A. Unique platform-based business model A. The fact that services provided by it were
B. simple and rudimentary in nature, low in
completeness, and replaceable
C. B.
D.
C.
e
pl
Opportunities (O) Threats (T)
m
A. A.
Sa
B.
B.
n
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
CASE STUDY SOLUTION
e
pl
m
SYNOPSIS
Sa
ZOMOZOMO was founded in September 2016 in Beijing, China. In its early days, the company conducted
business mainly through its gamified freelancers’ platform, where customers could request brand, culture
creation, space, and exhibition designs. Designers could then offer designs that would be reviewed, chosen, and
rewarded, which eliminated some of the longstanding troubles within the industry, such as inefficiency,
fragmentation, and lack of transparency. This soon made the company a prominent player in the design industry.
n
During its first four years of operation, the company witnessed the rapid expansion and diversification of its
tio
client base, which began to include many influential brands, such as Amazon, Nike, and Huawei.
With the alteration of ZOMOZOMO’s clientele makeup, the company—as a platform operator—began to
lu
find it increasingly challenging to meet the needs and requirements of its high-end clients in terms of
response time, service quality control, and confidentiality. By enlarging its business scope, developing its
So
supply chain, and tightening its service quality control, ZOMOZOMO was able to boost its capabilities to
deliver whole package design solutions. However, in February 2020, ZOMOZOMO faced rising
management costs, increasingly complex management work, and instability in its existing supply chain, as
well as a lack of experience in team building. ZOMOZOMO needed to determine whether the company
should prioritize building its internal capabilities or seek external partnerships to deliver high-quality design
solutions to its high-end clients.
OBJECTIVES
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
,• analyze a company’s external environment and internal resources to make strategic decisions that align
with the company’s strength and objectives;
• identify all the company’s dilemmas and challenges in the strategic change;
• come up with a detailed implementation strategy and specific actions that need to be taken; and
• evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of two strategic change plans and determine the best approach to
solve the current problem while meeting the needs and expectations of clients.
e
pl
m
Sa
n
tio
lu
So
ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. Why did ZOMOZOMO want a strategic change?
2. What were the main challenges encountered by ZOMOZOMO in its strategic change?
3. What factors should ZOMOZOMO consider when deciding between enhancing its internal capabilities
versus establishing external collaborations to deliver comprehensive design solutions?
4. Should ZOMOZOMO prioritize investing in internal resources and capabilities or seek external
partnerships and collaborations to deliver on its new positioning?
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
,ANALYSIS
1. Why did ZOMOZOMO want a strategic change?
A strategic change is a systematic change to a number of key elements of a company’s strategy, e.g.,
strategic positioning, competition means, and roles. It can be driven by various internal and external factors.
e
Externally, in order to survive and grow, a company must always be alert and adapt to political, economic,
technological, social, cultural, and market changes quickly. Internally, such factors as core capabilities,
pl
resources and strengths, and corporate culture can also prompt a company to change strategically. In the
case of ZOMOZOMO, the strategic change was motivated by two needs: the need to adapt to the external
m
macro environment and the need to build internal core capabilities over its competitors.
Sa
External Macro Environment
As far as the external macro environment is concerned, the motivations behind ZOMOZOMO’s strategic
change were mainly economic and social.
n
• Economic Environment: Due to the advancement of Chinese society as a whole, China’s powerful
tio
economic growth in recent years, and the upgrade of its economy, more and more companies began to
realize the importance of creative design in product development and branding. Corporate creative
design services were no longer limited to logo design and visual communication. They kept expanding
lu
and diversifying and began to cover architectural design, interior design, industrial design, and even
apparel design. This ensured a rapidly growing market with huge potential.
So
•
Internal Micro Catalysts
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
, EXHIBIT -1: A PRE-CHANGE SWOT ANALYSIS OF ZOMOZOMO
Strengths (S) Weaknesses (W)
A. Unique platform-based business model A. The fact that services provided by it were
B. simple and rudimentary in nature, low in
completeness, and replaceable
C. B.
D.
C.
e
pl
Opportunities (O) Threats (T)
m
A. A.
Sa
B.
B.
n
tio
lu
So
The Case Solution Starts From page 5
