Case Study Description of James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens
This three-part case study explores the development of Adlens, a commercial firm, and Vision for a Nation as the social venture developed in parallel. The entrepreneur's strategy is to sell the innovative Adlens optical products in middle-to-high income economies for profit, while Vision for a Nation is dedicated to improving vision in the developing world, starting with Rwanda. A key synergy comes from the "Buy one, give one" model, whereby for every pair of Adlens glasses purchased, another pair (adjustable or traditional glasses) is given away for free in Rwanda. Developing Adlens and Vision for a Nation as viable ventures has been not been an easy task. Despite the vast amount of time and money James Chen has invested in these projects, their long-term sustainability has yet to be demonstrated. But as an investor of 'patient capital', he sees beyond the logic of short-term profit making.
Swot Analysis of "James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens" written by Randel Carlock, Elin Williams includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Adlens Nation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, International business and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Adlens Nation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Adlens Nation 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Adlens Nation
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 Adlens Nation
Strengths James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Adlens Nation in James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Adlens Nation in the sector have low bargaining power. James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Adlens Nation to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Adlens Nation digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Adlens Nation 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Adlens Nation has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Adlens Nation 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)
– Adlens Nation 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Analytics focus
– Adlens Nation 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 Randel Carlock, Elin Williams 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Adlens Nation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Adlens Nation is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Adlens Nation is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High brand equity
– Adlens Nation has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Adlens Nation to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Adlens Nation 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Adlens Nation 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Adlens Nation 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 Adlens Nation is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens are -
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 Adlens Nation supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Adlens Nation vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Adlens Nation is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens 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 Adlens Nation has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Adlens Nation, firm in the HBR case study James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Adlens Nation 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Adlens Nation is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Adlens Nation needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Adlens Nation to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Adlens Nation 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Randel Carlock, Elin Williams suggests that, Adlens Nation 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens, is just above the industry average. Adlens Nation 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens, 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Adlens Nation products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Adlens Nation needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens | 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens are -
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 Adlens Nation in the consumer business. Now Adlens Nation can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Adlens Nation to increase its market reach. Adlens Nation will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Adlens Nation can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Manufacturing automation
– Adlens Nation can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Adlens Nation 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Adlens Nation 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. Adlens Nation 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Adlens Nation has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Adlens Nation to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens case study. Adlens Nation can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Adlens Nation 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.
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 Adlens Nation 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Adlens Nation can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Adlens Nation operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
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. Adlens Nation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Adlens Nation 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 Adlens Nation 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.
Threats James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Adlens Nation 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Adlens Nation is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Adlens Nation 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Adlens Nation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Adlens Nation.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Adlens Nation 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.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Adlens Nation needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens, Adlens Nation 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 .
Increasing wage structure of Adlens Nation
– 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 Adlens Nation.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Adlens Nation 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Adlens Nation 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.
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 Adlens Nation in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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. Adlens Nation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens 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 James Chen's Entrepreneurial Odyssey (A): Adlens 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 Adlens Nation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.