Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital
In January 2011, Mohamed Azab, founder and CEO of health care investment firm Seha Capital, made his first health care investment in Hassab Labs, a diagnostic lab in Alexandria, Egypt. Weeks later, a revolution erupted across the country as the Arab Spring swept through the region, and Azab spent the following years active in both the protests and in restructuring and expanding Hassab Labs. From 2011 to 2014, he opened 25 new branches, quadrupled staff, and more than doubled net income. By the end of the revolution in 2014, Hassab Labs was among the top five chains in the country. In October 2014, Seha partially exited Hassab Labs in a sale to an African conglomerate, SAHAM Group. At the same time, Azab learned that foreign investors in a small private hospital in Egypt were looking to exit the market. While Seha's mission was to build diagnostic, hospital, and pharmacy chains in Egypt, Azab had not been planning to enter the hospital market until he further expanded the diagnostic labs. In late 2014, Azab must decide if he should focus on expanding Hassab Labs, either in Egypt or across Africa, or invest in the hospital.
Swot Analysis of "Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital" written by Richard G. Hamermesh, Sarah McAra includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Azab Hassab facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Financial management, Health and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Azab Hassab, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Azab Hassab 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Azab Hassab
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 Azab Hassab
Strengths Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Azab Hassab in Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Azab Hassab 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Azab Hassab has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Azab Hassab 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Azab Hassab is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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.
Analytics focus
– Azab Hassab 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 Richard G. Hamermesh, Sarah McAra 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Azab Hassab in the sector have low bargaining power. Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Azab Hassab to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Azab Hassab 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 Azab Hassab in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Azab Hassab 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Azab Hassab to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Azab Hassab to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Azab Hassab
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Azab Hassab does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Azab Hassab 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Azab Hassab 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital are -
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital, in the dynamic environment Azab Hassab has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Azab Hassab has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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 Azab Hassab has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Richard G. Hamermesh, Sarah McAra suggests that, Azab Hassab 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital, is just above the industry average. Azab Hassab 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Azab Hassab products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Azab Hassab needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
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 Azab Hassab supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Azab Hassab vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Azab Hassab is planning to shift buying processes online.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Azab Hassab 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 - Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Azab Hassab has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Azab Hassab, firm in the HBR case study Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital, 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital | 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital are -
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Azab Hassab can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Azab Hassab 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Azab Hassab to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Azab Hassab can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Azab Hassab is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Azab Hassab 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Azab Hassab 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. Azab Hassab 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. Azab Hassab 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Azab Hassab 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Azab Hassab 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 Azab Hassab to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Azab Hassab 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, Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Azab Hassab can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Azab Hassab can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Azab Hassab operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Azab Hassab 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.
Threats Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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 Azab Hassab in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Azab Hassab 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital .
Regulatory challenges
– Azab Hassab 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.
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. Azab Hassab 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 Azab Hassab 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital, Azab Hassab 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 .
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. Azab Hassab needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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 Azab Hassab business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Azab Hassab with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Azab Hassab 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Azab Hassab has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Azab Hassab 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Azab Hassab 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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 Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital 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 Azab Hassab needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.