VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture
Subjects Covered: Healthcare, Supply Chain, Developing Countries, Venture CapitalThis case describes the evolution of a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) distributor start-up, incubated by two not-for-profit NGOs to help improve the vaccine cold chain in Northern Mozambique. These NGOs must face the decision whether and how to sell their participation in the start-up. VillageReach and the Mozambican Foundation for Community Development (FDC), both NGOs, got involved in the national immunization program, the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), in northern Mozambique. This program's goal was to ensure prompt and universal access to vaccines and other medical supplies. Early on, VillageReach had realized that the program's goals could not be satisfied unless cold storage (and transportation) of the vaccines was guaranteed. Because electricity was scarce and unreliable in the region, VillageReach searched for alternative solutions for supporting cold storage. VillageReach finally decided to use LPG powered refrigerators, and, due to the lack of reliable sources of LPG in the region, FDC and VillageReach went on to fund VidaGas, an LPG distribution company. It soon became evident that an efficient distribution network of LPG could provide benefits to society above and beyond health: at the time, most businesses and households in the region cooked using biomass fuels. Such fuels are a significant health hazard, and also contribute to deforestation in the region. Although VidaGas could be considered a success, it had yet to reach breakeven in its current operations. In addition, new investments would be required to expand operations to neighboring provinces beyond the province used for the pilot, Cabo Delgado. As the Ministry of Health (MoH), FDC and VillageReach are planning to expand the improvements in the national immunization program to these provinces, the presence of a reliable source of LPG would be essential to their goals. At the same time, VillageReach and FDC's resources for further investment are limited.
Swot Analysis of "VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture" written by Noel Watson, Santiago Kraiselburd includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Villagereach Lpg facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Financial management, Operations management and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing commodity prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Villagereach Lpg, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Villagereach Lpg 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Villagereach Lpg
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Villagereach Lpg
Strengths VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Villagereach Lpg in VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture Harvard Business Review case study are -
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Villagereach Lpg 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
– Villagereach Lpg has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Villagereach Lpg to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Villagereach Lpg is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Villagereach Lpg has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Villagereach Lpg 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Villagereach Lpg is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Strong track record of project management
– Villagereach Lpg is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Villagereach Lpg is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Villagereach Lpg in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Villagereach Lpg 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 Villagereach Lpg in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Villagereach Lpg 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Villagereach Lpg
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Villagereach Lpg does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Villagereach Lpg to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Villagereach Lpg to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Weaknesses VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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 Villagereach Lpg has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Villagereach Lpg is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Villagereach Lpg products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Villagereach Lpg needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture, in the dynamic environment Villagereach Lpg has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Villagereach Lpg has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture HBR case study mentions - Villagereach Lpg 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Villagereach Lpg 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Villagereach Lpg 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 - VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture, is just above the industry average. Villagereach Lpg 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Villagereach Lpg 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Villagereach Lpg 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.
Opportunities VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture | 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture are -
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Villagereach Lpg 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. Villagereach Lpg 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Villagereach Lpg has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Villagereach Lpg to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture case study. Villagereach Lpg can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Villagereach Lpg is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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.
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 Villagereach Lpg 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Villagereach Lpg to increase its market reach. Villagereach Lpg 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Villagereach Lpg can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Villagereach Lpg 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Villagereach Lpg to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Villagereach Lpg to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Villagereach Lpg 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, VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Villagereach Lpg 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
– Villagereach Lpg can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Villagereach Lpg can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Villagereach Lpg operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Villagereach Lpg 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Villagereach Lpg to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Threats VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Villagereach Lpg 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Villagereach Lpg 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Villagereach Lpg with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Villagereach Lpg in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Increasing wage structure of Villagereach Lpg
– 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 Villagereach Lpg.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Villagereach Lpg has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Villagereach Lpg needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture, Villagereach Lpg may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Villagereach Lpg 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. Villagereach Lpg 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.
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 Villagereach Lpg.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Villagereach Lpg 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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 Villagereach Lpg needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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