Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management
In 2015, the medical officer in charge of a blood bank in India needed to manage a chronic shortage of blood products that was likely to worsen over the summer months. The blood products were perishable and had a limited useful life which complicated matters when maintaining adequate stock. Furthermore, demand for blood products was unpredictable and varied widely each month. The blood blank attracted few blood donors and they were likely to become even fewer over the summer. A shortage of blood products could mean cancelled surgeries and, in worst-case scenarios, the loss of lives. The medical officer needed to decide whether the blood bank should optimize its inventory of perishable blood products by organizing large blood donation camps or by holding smaller but more frequent blood donation camps. Harshal Lowalekar is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Indore. T.S. Raghu is affiliated with Arizona State University. Ajay Vinze is affiliated with Arizona State University.
Authors :: Harshal Lowalekar, T.S. Raghu, Ajay Vinze
Swot Analysis of "Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management" written by Harshal Lowalekar, T.S. Raghu, Ajay Vinze includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Blood Perishable facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business models, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is backlash against globalization,
wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Blood Perishable, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Blood Perishable 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Blood Perishable
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 Blood Perishable
Strengths Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Blood Perishable in Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Blood Perishable 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 Blood Perishable in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Blood Perishable 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Blood Perishable is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Blood Perishable 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Blood Perishable
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Blood Perishable does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Blood Perishable is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Blood Perishable 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 Blood Perishable is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Blood Perishable is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Blood Perishable has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Blood Perishable in the sector have low bargaining power. Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Blood Perishable to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Blood Perishable 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.
High brand equity
– Blood Perishable has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Blood Perishable to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management, is just above the industry average. Blood Perishable 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 dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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 Blood Perishable has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Blood Perishable products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Blood Perishable needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Blood Perishable 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Blood Perishable 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Harshal Lowalekar, T.S. Raghu, Ajay Vinze suggests that, Blood Perishable 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Blood Perishable 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 - Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management, in the dynamic environment Blood Perishable has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Blood Perishable has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Blood Perishable 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Blood Perishable is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Blood Perishable is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management | 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Blood Perishable has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Blood Perishable to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management case study. Blood Perishable can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Blood Perishable 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Blood Perishable can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Blood Perishable 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Blood Perishable 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Blood Perishable 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, Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Blood Perishable can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Blood Perishable 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.
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. Blood Perishable can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Blood Perishable can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Blood Perishable 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.
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 Blood Perishable in the consumer business. Now Blood Perishable can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Blood Perishable 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.
Threats Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management, Blood Perishable 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 .
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.
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 Blood Perishable in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Blood Perishable 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Blood Perishable is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Blood Perishable 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. Blood Perishable can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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. Blood Perishable 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Blood Perishable 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.
Increasing wage structure of Blood Perishable
– 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 Blood Perishable.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Blood Perishable has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Blood Perishable 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.
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. Blood Perishable can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Blood Perishable.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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 Model Blood Bank, Indore: Supply Chain Management 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 Blood Perishable needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
