VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor
VisionSpring enabled access to affordable eye care for low-income individuals suffering from vision impairment in developing economies. Established in the United States as a not-for-profit social enterprise, it sold more than two million pairs of eyeglasses globally, which included over one million pairs of eyeglasses sold in India. Despite achieving this scale, VisionSpring believed there was a long way to go considering the estimated 300 million people in India requiring eyeglasses for vision correction. Realizing this as a huge unmet opportunity, the company set a goal of achieving 10 times its annual sales volume in India. This was not an easy task considering the socio-economic dynamics of the base of the pyramid segment, as well as market challenges in peri-urban and rural India. The plan would require a total paradigm shift in the overall business model of VisionSpring in India. Sandeep Goyal is affiliated with Management Development Institute. Amit Kapoor is affiliated with Institute for Competitiveness.
Swot Analysis of "VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor" written by Sandeep Goyal, Amit Kapoor includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Visionspring Eyeglasses facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Social enterprise and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Visionspring Eyeglasses, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Visionspring Eyeglasses 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Visionspring Eyeglasses
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 Visionspring Eyeglasses
Strengths VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Visionspring Eyeglasses in VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Visionspring Eyeglasses is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Visionspring Eyeglasses has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Visionspring Eyeglasses has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Visionspring Eyeglasses to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Visionspring Eyeglasses to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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 Sandeep Goyal, Amit Kapoor 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Visionspring Eyeglasses is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Visionspring Eyeglasses is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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.
Learning organization
- Visionspring Eyeglasses 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 Visionspring Eyeglasses is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Visionspring Eyeglasses has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Visionspring Eyeglasses to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Visionspring Eyeglasses digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Weaknesses VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor, it seems that the employees of Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Visionspring Eyeglasses has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Visionspring Eyeglasses has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor, in the dynamic environment Visionspring Eyeglasses has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Visionspring Eyeglasses has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Visionspring Eyeglasses is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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 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 Visionspring Eyeglasses supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Visionspring Eyeglasses vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Visionspring Eyeglasses has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor, is just above the industry average. Visionspring Eyeglasses 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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 Visionspring Eyeglasses 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor | 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Visionspring Eyeglasses can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
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 Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Visionspring Eyeglasses in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Visionspring Eyeglasses can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Visionspring Eyeglasses operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Visionspring Eyeglasses to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Visionspring Eyeglasses in the consumer business. Now Visionspring Eyeglasses can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Visionspring Eyeglasses can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Visionspring Eyeglasses can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Visionspring Eyeglasses is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Visionspring Eyeglasses can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Threats VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor are -
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 Visionspring Eyeglasses business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
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. Visionspring Eyeglasses can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Visionspring Eyeglasses is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Visionspring Eyeglasses in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Visionspring Eyeglasses.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Visionspring Eyeglasses has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Visionspring Eyeglasses needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Visionspring Eyeglasses needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Visionspring Eyeglasses 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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 VisionSpring in India: Enabling Affordable Eyeglasses for the Poor 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 Visionspring Eyeglasses needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.