Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain
This case study presents an example of business model innovation in the context of primary care delivery. It documents the story of Laastari, a new IT-driven retail health clinic chain based in Finland, including the process that links conceptual strategy to implementation and practice, as well as the evolving stakeholder ecosystem of the company.
Swot Analysis of "Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain" written by Ridhima Aggarwal, Stephen E. Chick includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Laastari Clinic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Technology and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Laastari Clinic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Laastari Clinic 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Laastari Clinic
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Laastari Clinic
Strengths Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Laastari Clinic in Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Laastari Clinic 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 Laastari Clinic in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Laastari Clinic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Laastari Clinic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain 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.
Analytics focus
– Laastari Clinic 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 Ridhima Aggarwal, Stephen E. Chick 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Laastari Clinic are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Laastari Clinic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Laastari Clinic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Laastari Clinic has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Laastari Clinic to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Laastari Clinic in the sector have low bargaining power. Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Laastari Clinic to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Laastari Clinic is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Laastari Clinic 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Laastari Clinic digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Laastari Clinic 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.
Training and development
– Laastari Clinic has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain 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.
Weaknesses Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Laastari Clinic 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Laastari Clinic is planning to shift buying processes online.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain, is just above the industry average. Laastari Clinic 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Laastari Clinic 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Laastari Clinic needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ridhima Aggarwal, Stephen E. Chick suggests that, Laastari Clinic 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Laastari Clinic has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Laastari Clinic even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain, it seems that the employees of Laastari Clinic 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain HBR case study mentions - Laastari Clinic 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 Laastari Clinic products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Laastari Clinic 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 Laastari Clinic supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Laastari Clinic vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain | 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Laastari Clinic 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Laastari Clinic to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Laastari Clinic can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Laastari Clinic is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, 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. Laastari Clinic can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Manufacturing automation
– Laastari Clinic can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Laastari Clinic to increase its market reach. Laastari Clinic 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.
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 Laastari Clinic in the consumer business. Now Laastari Clinic can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Loyalty marketing
– Laastari Clinic 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Laastari Clinic 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, Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Laastari Clinic has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Laastari Clinic to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain case study. Laastari Clinic can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Laastari Clinic 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Laastari Clinic 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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Laastari Clinic to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Threats Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain are -
Increasing wage structure of Laastari Clinic
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Laastari Clinic.
Regulatory challenges
– Laastari Clinic 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Laastari Clinic in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain, Laastari Clinic may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Laastari Clinic 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Laastari Clinic with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Laastari Clinic can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Laastari Clinic business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Laastari Clinic can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Environmental challenges
– Laastari Clinic 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. Laastari Clinic can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Laastari Clinic is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Laastari Clinic 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain 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 Laastari: Building a Retail Health Clinic Chain 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 Laastari Clinic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.