When to Ally and When to Acquire: Solera Style

This case examines how Solera, a global automotive technology company operating in more than 120 countries, navigated a critical build, borrow, or buy decision after identifying a major gap in its product portfolio: shop management workflow software for automotive repair facilities. While Solera’s diagnostic solutions (Direct-Hit by Identifix) had deep penetration in repair shops, the operational workflow layer—covering estimates, repair orders, parts management, customer communication, and invoicing—remained fragmented across disconnected third-party tools.
The case traces three sequential strategic decisions. First, Solera chose not to build the capability internally, despite sufficient engineering capacity, due to a substantial knowledge gap in shop-level operations and an estimated 18–24 month development timeline. Second, the company opted to “borrow” by licensing a white-label platform from Company S, a small SaaS vendor. While successful as a learning mechanism, this partnership ultimately revealed architectural and scalability limitations. Third, the case culminates in a high-stakes decision: whether to license or acquire the dormant intellectual property of Company C, a failed start-up whose codebase offers a well-designed workflow platform. The decision unfolds under time pressure, with a board presentation scheduled in 48 hours.
In parallel, the case introduces the Ecosystem Canvas framework, prompting participants to map Solera’s ecosystem by identifying its role as orchestrator, along with key actors such as OEMs and insurers (core partners), technology enablers, complementors, and resellers. The case invites analysis of how the Company S and Company C decisions reshape this ecosystem and influence Solera’s strategic positioning.

This case is designed to teach two complementary strategic frameworks within a single session. First, Capron and Mitchell’s Build, Borrow, Buy (BBB) framework provides a structured approach to selecting among internal development, alliances/licensing, and acquisitions as modes of capability acquisition. The case illustrates all three options sequentially, highlighting how the choice depends on the magnitude of the capability gap, the availability of suitable partners, and the required level of integration.
Second, the case applies Shipilov and Burelli’s Ecosystem Canvas, which enables participants to map ecosystem roles—such as orchestrator, core partners, technology enablers, complementors, and resellers—and analyse how strategic decisions alter ecosystem structure and value flows.
The case is particularly well suited for MBA and executive education audiences. It combines a concrete, time-sensitive decision (whether to acquire Company C’s IP) with a broader strategic challenge (ecosystem orchestration). Participants are required not only to choose between borrowing and buying, but also to align this decision with Solera’s long-term ecosystem position and competitive architecture.
Key Learning Objectives

• Understand the strategic logic and trade-offs among build, borrow, and buy as modes of capability acquisition.
• Recognise how borrowing (alliances and licensing) can function as a learning mechanism that reduces uncertainty prior to committing to ownership.
• Identify when acquisition is justified and distinguish these conditions from the “implementation trap” of habitual or premature acquisition.
• Apply the Ecosystem Canvas to map industry roles and analyse how capability decisions reshape ecosystem structure and interactions.
• Connect resource-level decisions (build/borrow/buy) to ecosystem-level strategy (orchestration and value creation).