Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery
In 2013, Sam Frons founded Addicaid-a mobile application (app) that allowed people in addiction recovery to track their progress, check in with counselors, and connect with others in recovery programs. The app was grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy and used the rich set of data it collected from users to suggest tailored coping mechanisms for avoiding relapse. In September 2016, six months after quitting her full-time job to focus solely on Addicaid, Frons struggled to transition what was once a passion project into a full-fledged business. Two weeks earlier, Frons had approached a private, for-profit chain of addiction treatment centers about offering the app to its clients as a support tool for the recovery process once they completed treatment. The chain's management team was interested, but wanted more information about how Addicaid could help it reach its target bed occupancy rate. A recovering addict herself, Frons founded Addicaid in 2013 to help people with substance abuse problems and process disorders (such as food, gambling, internet, pornography, and sex addictions) reach their goals-which presumably included staying out of treatment centers. But now Addicaid needed to establish a business model that also created value for treatment centers. How should Frons address this inherent tension? What path should she pursue to scale her company into a sustainable, revenue generating business?
Swot Analysis of "Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery" written by Robert S. Huckman, Sarah Mehta includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Addicaid Frons facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Technology and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , wage bills are increasing, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Addicaid Frons, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Addicaid Frons
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 Addicaid Frons
Strengths Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Addicaid Frons in Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Addicaid Frons to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Addicaid Frons to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Learning organization
- Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid Frons is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Addicaid Frons is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Addicaid Frons in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Addicaid Frons 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.
Analytics focus
– Addicaid Frons 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 Robert S. Huckman, Sarah Mehta 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Addicaid Frons is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Addicaid Frons in the sector have low bargaining power. Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Addicaid Frons to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Addicaid Frons is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid Frons in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery, is just above the industry average. Addicaid Frons 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 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 Addicaid Frons supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Addicaid Frons vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Addicaid Frons 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Addicaid Frons 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Addicaid Frons is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Addicaid Frons needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Addicaid Frons to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Addicaid Frons 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Addicaid Frons, firm in the HBR case study Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Addicaid Frons is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Addicaid Frons is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery HBR case study mentions - Addicaid Frons 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery, 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.
Opportunities Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery | 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid Frons to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Addicaid Frons 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.
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. Addicaid Frons 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. Addicaid Frons can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Addicaid Frons 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Addicaid Frons can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Addicaid Frons is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Addicaid Frons 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, Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Addicaid Frons can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Addicaid Frons to increase its market reach. Addicaid Frons 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Addicaid Frons 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Addicaid Frons 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Addicaid Frons has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Addicaid Frons to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery case study. Addicaid Frons can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Addicaid Frons can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Addicaid Frons operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Threats Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery are -
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 Addicaid Frons business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery .
Increasing wage structure of Addicaid Frons
– 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 Addicaid Frons.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Addicaid Frons has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Addicaid Frons 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Addicaid Frons 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid Frons.
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. Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery, Addicaid Frons 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 .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Addicaid Frons 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.
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. Addicaid Frons 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Addicaid Frons 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery 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 Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery 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 Addicaid Frons needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
