Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale
It is a major global health challenge to get life-saving vaccines to children in hard-to-reach parts of Africa and Asia. These vaccines must stay cool during transport, yet it is not always possible to prevent heat exposure. Historically, health workers had no means of determining whether such heat exposure had damaged the vaccines and caused them to lose potency. But Vaccine Vial Monitors, or VVMs, changed that. A VVM is a small temperature monitor, no bigger than a dime, that adheres to a vaccine vial to indicate whether the vaccine has been rendered ineffective by excessive heat exposure. The benefits of using VVMs are two-fold: children only receive viable vaccines, and health workers do not discard viable vaccines because they are uncertain about heat exposure damage. VVMs were first developed in 1990, and by 2017, over 6.6 billion VVMs had been used. However, VVMs had a long and uncertain journey that spanned almost 30 years between 1979, when the World Health Organization (WHO) put out a call for such a technology to be invented, and 2007, when there was mass adoption by vaccine manufacturers. This case focuses on the efforts made, and challenges faced, by the many public, social, and private sector partners who collaborated to take this relatively simple social innovation to global scale. These partners included international governmental health bodies such as WHO and UNICEF; the non-governmental organization PATH, which spearheaded and guided the efforts; and TempTime, the private company that invented the technology. Though sometimes at odds with each other, the partners had to convince the many different vaccine manufacturers to buy and use the VVM product. This required continually adapting technology design, reshaping business partnerships, and rethinking cost/pricing models. VVMs had saved over 160,000 children's lives by 2012 alone, but success had in no way been a sure thing.
Authors :: Debra Schifrin, Steve Davis
Topics :: Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Tags :: Health, International business, Regulation, Social enterprise, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale" written by Debra Schifrin, Steve Davis includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Vvms Vaccine facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, International business, Regulation, Social enterprise and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Vvms Vaccine, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Vvms Vaccine 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Vvms Vaccine
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Vvms Vaccine
Strengths Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Vvms Vaccine in Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale Harvard Business Review case study are -
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Vvms Vaccine 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Vvms Vaccine is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale 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 Vvms Vaccine in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Vvms Vaccine has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Vvms Vaccine 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Vvms Vaccine is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Vvms Vaccine in the sector have low bargaining power. Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Vvms Vaccine to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Innovation driven organization
– Vvms Vaccine is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Vvms Vaccine is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale 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 switching costs
– The high switching costs that Vvms Vaccine 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.
Learning organization
- Vvms Vaccine 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 Vvms Vaccine is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Vvms Vaccine 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Organizational Resilience of Vvms Vaccine
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Vvms Vaccine does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Weaknesses Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale are -
Need for greater diversity
– Vvms Vaccine 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale HBR case study mentions - Vvms Vaccine 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Vvms Vaccine 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. Vvms Vaccine 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Debra Schifrin, Steve Davis suggests that, Vvms Vaccine 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.
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 Vvms Vaccine supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Vvms Vaccine vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Vvms Vaccine is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale, it seems that the employees of Vvms Vaccine 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Vvms Vaccine 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 - Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Vvms Vaccine 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Vvms Vaccine is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Vvms Vaccine needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Vvms Vaccine to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale | 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Vvms Vaccine 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Vvms Vaccine 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Vvms Vaccine can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Vvms Vaccine 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 Vvms Vaccine 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 Vvms Vaccine to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Vvms Vaccine 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Vvms Vaccine has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Vvms Vaccine to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale case study. Vvms Vaccine can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Vvms Vaccine 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Vvms Vaccine 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Vvms Vaccine to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Vvms Vaccine in the consumer business. Now Vvms Vaccine can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Vvms Vaccine 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Vvms Vaccine in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Vvms Vaccine 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, Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale, 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Vvms Vaccine in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Vvms Vaccine has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Vvms Vaccine needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Vvms Vaccine 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.
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 Vvms Vaccine in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Vvms Vaccine
– 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 Vvms Vaccine.
Regulatory challenges
– Vvms Vaccine 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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Vvms Vaccine business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Vvms Vaccine can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale, Vvms Vaccine may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Vvms Vaccine with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Vvms Vaccine 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. Vvms Vaccine can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Vvms Vaccine is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale 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 Vaccine Vial Monitors: "The Little Big Thing:" Taking Social Innovation to Scale 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 Vvms Vaccine needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.