AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy
AyurVAID is a chain of Ayurveda (traditional Hindu medicine) hospitals founded by Rajiv Vasudevan, who moved to entrepreneurship after 16 years in the corporate sector and identified Ayurveda's potential for root-cause diagnosis. AyurVAID provides Ayurveda-based healthcare to treat non-communicable diseases and chronic diseases, which together comprise two-thirds of the Indian healthcare market. Ayurveda's system of root-cause diagnosis and subsequent disease management results in no side effects, but most Ayurveda companies are content to operate in the wellness sector and to provide Ayurvedic formulations in the over-the-counter consumer market. AyurVAID hospitals are positioned differently, catering to people with lifestyle diseases and offering long-term solutions to many chronic diseases. Over a period of 10 years, AyurvVAID's approach has led to rapid growth for the hospitals; however, the founder and chief executive officer wants to identify the most appropriate strategy for AyurVAID. Should it focus on strengthening its position as a multi-specialty hospital, or should it explore specializing in India's large and growing market for the treatment of diabetes?
Authors :: Samta Jain, Sunanda Easwaran, Murray J. Bryant
Swot Analysis of "AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy" written by Samta Jain, Sunanda Easwaran, Murray J. Bryant includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ayurvaid Ayurveda facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, International business, Strategy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, technology disruption,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ayurvaid Ayurveda, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ayurvaid Ayurveda
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 Ayurvaid Ayurveda
Strengths AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ayurvaid Ayurveda in AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Innovation driven organization
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ayurvaid Ayurveda in the sector have low bargaining power. AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ayurvaid Ayurveda to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 Samta Jain, Sunanda Easwaran, Murray J. Bryant 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.
High brand equity
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ayurvaid Ayurveda to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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
– AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Ayurvaid Ayurveda to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Ayurvaid Ayurveda to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Ayurvaid Ayurveda
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Ayurvaid Ayurveda does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Ayurvaid Ayurveda digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy, in the dynamic environment Ayurvaid Ayurveda has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ayurvaid Ayurveda has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy, 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Ayurvaid Ayurveda is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ayurvaid Ayurveda is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Ayurvaid Ayurveda needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ayurvaid Ayurveda to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ayurvaid Ayurveda is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy, is just above the industry average. Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Samta Jain, Sunanda Easwaran, Murray J. Bryant suggests that, Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 - AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Opportunities AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy | 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy are -
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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, AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Ayurvaid Ayurveda to increase its market reach. Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
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 Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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.
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. Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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. Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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, Ayurvaid Ayurveda is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ayurvaid Ayurveda can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ayurvaid Ayurveda operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Threats AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy are -
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy .
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. Ayurvaid Ayurveda can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Ayurvaid Ayurveda
– 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 Ayurvaid Ayurveda.
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. Ayurvaid Ayurveda needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
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 Ayurvaid Ayurveda in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
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.
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 Ayurvaid Ayurveda business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy, Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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
– Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Ayurvaid Ayurveda 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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 AyurVAID: Grandma's Remedies or Blue Ocean Strategy 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 Ayurvaid Ayurveda needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.