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 - – there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, 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 -
Learning organization
- Villagereach Lpg 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 Villagereach Lpg is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Villagereach Lpg digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Villagereach Lpg 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.
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.
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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Villagereach Lpg 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.
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.
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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Villagereach Lpg 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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 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.
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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Villagereach Lpg, firm in the HBR case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Villagereach Lpg has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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 VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Villagereach Lpg is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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 Villagereach Lpg 's lucrative customers.
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 -
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.
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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Villagereach Lpg can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Villagereach Lpg 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Villagereach Lpg can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
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.
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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Villagereach Lpg in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Villagereach Lpg can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Villagereach Lpg 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 Technology & Operations segment.
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.
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.
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 -
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– 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.
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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Villagereach Lpg can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 .
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 Villagereach Lpg in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Villagereach Lpg is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Villagereach Lpg 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. Villagereach Lpg can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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.
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.
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 Villagereach Lpg business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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.
Feel free to connect with us if you need business research.
You can download Excel Template of Case Study Solution & Analysis of VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture