Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis
Agility is often mentioned but seldom defined or clearly illustrated. This case discusses UNICEF's response to the sudden disruption of its aid supply chain to Yemen after the bombing started in 2015. It illustrates how a forwarding hub was quickly established in Djibouti and dhow vessels were used to reach small Yemeni ports from there. The case analyzes the supply chain, the organizational and strategic aspects of agility and discusses how UNICEF can further develop its strategic agility as an organizational capability. It can be used in supply chain and strategy classes, as well as classes on change management and fast decision making processes in organizations. If you buy the case you will get access to all three parts, A, B, and C. Part A outlines the events leading up to the Yemen Crisis and presents the challenges faced by UNICEF. Part B then describes UNICEF's response to the crisis, and part C gives an analysis of this response. Parts B and C are restricted to instructors and only available on the dedicated case website https://cases.insead.edu/humanitarian-agility, but can be distributed to students as well.
Authors :: Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Charles Delagarde, Joachim Mikalsen
Swot Analysis of "Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis" written by Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Charles Delagarde, Joachim Mikalsen includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Agility Yemen facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Agility Yemen, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Agility Yemen 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Agility Yemen
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 Agility Yemen
Strengths Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Agility Yemen in Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Agility Yemen 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.
Analytics focus
– Agility Yemen 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 Luk N. Van Wassenhove, Charles Delagarde, Joachim Mikalsen 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Agility Yemen has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Agility Yemen 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Agility Yemen 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Agility Yemen in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Agility Yemen 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
– Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Agility Yemen to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Agility Yemen to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Agility Yemen 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Agility Yemen has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Agility Yemen to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Agility Yemen in the sector have low bargaining power. Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Agility Yemen to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Agility Yemen digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Agility Yemen has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Agility Yemen 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Agility Yemen is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Agility Yemen needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Agility Yemen to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis HBR case study mentions - Agility Yemen 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Agility Yemen 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Agility Yemen, firm in the HBR case study Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis, is just above the industry average. Agility Yemen 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis 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 Agility Yemen has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Agility Yemen 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 - Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Agility Yemen 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Agility Yemen 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
– Agility Yemen 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Agility Yemen 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis | 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis are -
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. Agility Yemen 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. Agility Yemen 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.
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. Agility Yemen can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Developing new processes and practices
– Agility Yemen 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Agility Yemen has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Agility Yemen to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis case study. Agility Yemen 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. Agility Yemen 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 Agility Yemen 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.
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 Agility Yemen 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 Agility Yemen in the consumer business. Now Agility Yemen can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Agility Yemen 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Agility Yemen 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Agility Yemen can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Agility Yemen 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Agility Yemen 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.
Threats Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis are -
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 Agility Yemen in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Agility Yemen has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Agility Yemen 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis, Agility Yemen 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 .
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Agility Yemen 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis .
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. Agility Yemen 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Agility Yemen 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Agility Yemen with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Agility Yemen is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Agility Yemen can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
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
– Agility Yemen 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.
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. Agility Yemen can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Agility Yemen 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. Agility Yemen can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis 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 Humanitarian Agility in Action (A): The 2015 Yemen Crisis 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 Agility Yemen needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.