Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B)
Reveals that Vicks chose a multi-condition positioning for the product. Describes testing of name and concept, and extensively reports on a four-city test market. Students are expected to evaluate both the design and results of the test, and face options ranging from termination to going national.
Swot Analysis of "Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B)" written by George S. Yip, Jeffrey R. Williams includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Vicks Test facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Market research, Product development and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Vicks Test, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Vicks Test 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Vicks Test
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Vicks Test
Strengths Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Vicks Test in Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Vicks Test digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Vicks Test 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.
Learning organization
- Vicks Test 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 Vicks Test is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Vicks Test 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Innovation driven organization
– Vicks Test is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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 Sales & Marketing field
– Vicks Test 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 Vicks Test in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Vicks Test in the sector have low bargaining power. Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Vicks Test to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Vicks Test 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.
High brand equity
– Vicks Test has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Vicks Test to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Vicks Test to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Vicks Test to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Vicks Test is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by George S. Yip, Jeffrey R. Williams can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Vicks Test in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Vicks Test is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, George S. Yip, Jeffrey R. Williams suggests that, Vicks Test 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Vicks Test is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Vicks Test needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Vicks Test to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Vicks Test has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) HBR case study mentions - Vicks Test takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Lack of clear differentiation of Vicks Test products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Vicks Test needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Vicks Test supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Vicks Test vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Vicks Test 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B), is just above the industry average. Vicks Test 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Vicks Test 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Vicks Test is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) | 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) are -
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Vicks Test 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 Sales & Marketing segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Vicks Test 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Vicks Test can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Vicks Test 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Vicks Test 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.
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. Vicks Test can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Vicks Test in the consumer business. Now Vicks Test can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Vicks Test can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Vicks Test can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Vicks Test can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Vicks Test operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Developing new processes and practices
– Vicks Test can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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
– Vicks Test 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Vicks Test can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Vicks Test with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Vicks Test 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. Vicks Test can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Vicks Test 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.
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. Vicks Test 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.
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 Vicks Test in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Vicks Test has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Vicks Test needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Vicks Test business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Vicks Test 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Vicks Test 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Vicks Test is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B), Vicks Test may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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 Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B) 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 Vicks Test needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
