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 - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, 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 -
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.
Analytics focus
– Villagereach Lpg 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 Noel Watson, Santiago Kraiselburd 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.
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.
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.
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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Villagereach Lpg in the sector have low bargaining power. VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Villagereach Lpg to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Villagereach Lpg has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
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.
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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Villagereach Lpg has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Villagereach Lpg even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture, it seems that the employees of Villagereach Lpg 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.
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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Villagereach Lpg 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Villagereach Lpg needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
Loyalty marketing
– Villagereach Lpg 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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. Villagereach Lpg needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Villagereach Lpg 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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