Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project
NYPRO, Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of plastic injection-molded products, is asked by the Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson to manufacture molds that Vistakon will use to produce disposable contact lenses. The required dimensional tolerances for NYPRO's molds are 10 times tighter than it has ever achieved before. The case describes how engineering teams in these two companies attempt to work together to develop a capable process for making molds and lenses.
Swot Analysis of "Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project" written by Clayton M. Christensen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Molds Vistakon facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Design, Product development, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing commodity prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Molds Vistakon, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Molds Vistakon 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Molds Vistakon
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 Molds Vistakon
Strengths Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Molds Vistakon in Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Molds Vistakon 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Molds Vistakon has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Molds Vistakon 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Molds Vistakon is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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 lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Molds Vistakon 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 Molds Vistakon in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Molds Vistakon has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Molds Vistakon to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Molds Vistakon 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Molds Vistakon 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Molds Vistakon is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Molds Vistakon to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Molds Vistakon to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Molds Vistakon is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Molds Vistakon 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 Clayton M. Christensen 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Molds Vistakon 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.
Weaknesses Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Molds Vistakon products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Molds Vistakon needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Molds Vistakon 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Molds Vistakon 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Molds Vistakon 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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 Molds Vistakon has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Molds Vistakon supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Molds Vistakon vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project, it seems that the employees of Molds Vistakon 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Molds Vistakon 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. Molds Vistakon 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project, is just above the industry average. Molds Vistakon 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, Clayton M. Christensen suggests that, Molds Vistakon 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Molds Vistakon is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project | 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Molds Vistakon 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Molds Vistakon 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Molds Vistakon to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Molds Vistakon can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Molds Vistakon operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Molds Vistakon is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Molds Vistakon has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Molds Vistakon to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project case study. Molds Vistakon can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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. Molds Vistakon 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. Molds Vistakon 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Molds Vistakon 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Molds Vistakon 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Molds Vistakon in the consumer business. Now Molds Vistakon can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Molds Vistakon 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.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Molds Vistakon can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Molds Vistakon 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 Molds Vistakon to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Molds Vistakon 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.
Threats Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project, Molds Vistakon 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 .
Environmental challenges
– Molds Vistakon 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. Molds Vistakon can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Molds Vistakon 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.
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. Molds Vistakon can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Molds Vistakon has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Molds Vistakon 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.
Increasing wage structure of Molds Vistakon
– 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 Molds Vistakon.
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 Molds Vistakon.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Molds Vistakon 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Molds Vistakon 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Molds Vistakon is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Molds Vistakon in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Molds Vistakon 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.
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 Molds Vistakon business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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 Molding the Impossible: The NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project 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 Molds Vistakon needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.