OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform
Gives an account of how an entrepreneur was able to seize an opportunity to start a new business and to manage a low-cost, but effective sales operation. Khalid Gibran exhibited the hallmarks of entrepreneurial style--he viewed rules as guidelines only and was willing to adjust his organization's priorities to make the most of changing circumstances. In less than three years, he spearheaded two organizations, but in so doing, he had to make a number of important trade-offs. OneCard--his latest and most ambitious venture--was launched just before Hong Kong was beset by the mysterious SARS virus. As retail sales plummeted and Hong Kong residents avoided eating out, many businesses were bracing for more uncertainty. Gibran, however, saw a marketing opportunity amid the many challenges and a chance to grow his merchant and subscriber bases.
Swot Analysis of "OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform" written by Thomas M. Hout, Amir Hoosain includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gibran Onecard facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Entrepreneurship, Knowledge management and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, there is backlash against globalization, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gibran Onecard, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gibran Onecard 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gibran Onecard
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 Gibran Onecard
Strengths OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gibran Onecard in OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Gibran Onecard is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Gibran Onecard 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Gibran Onecard in the sector have low bargaining power. OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Gibran Onecard to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Gibran Onecard
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Gibran Onecard does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Gibran Onecard has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Gibran Onecard 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Gibran Onecard to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Gibran Onecard to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gibran Onecard is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Gibran Onecard 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 Gibran Onecard in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Gibran Onecard 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Gibran Onecard 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 Thomas M. Hout, Amir Hoosain 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.
Learning organization
- Gibran Onecard 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 Gibran Onecard is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform, it seems that the employees of Gibran Onecard don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Need for greater diversity
– Gibran Onecard 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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 Gibran Onecard 's lucrative customers.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Gibran Onecard is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Gibran Onecard products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Gibran Onecard needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform HBR case study mentions - Gibran Onecard 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, Gibran Onecard 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Gibran Onecard 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Gibran Onecard has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Gibran Onecard even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Gibran Onecard is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Gibran Onecard needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Gibran Onecard to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform, in the dynamic environment Gibran Onecard has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Gibran Onecard has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform | 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform are -
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. Gibran Onecard can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Gibran Onecard 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. Gibran Onecard 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Gibran Onecard 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, OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gibran Onecard 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Gibran Onecard to increase its market reach. Gibran Onecard 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Gibran Onecard is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gibran Onecard 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Gibran Onecard 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gibran Onecard to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Gibran Onecard 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Gibran Onecard can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Gibran Onecard operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gibran Onecard 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 Gibran Onecard to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Gibran Onecard 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Gibran Onecard 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.
Threats OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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 Gibran Onecard in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Gibran Onecard 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Gibran Onecard 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Gibran Onecard 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
– Gibran Onecard 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
– Gibran Onecard has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Gibran Onecard 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.
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 Gibran Onecard business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Gibran Onecard 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform, Gibran Onecard 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. Gibran Onecard needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gibran Onecard 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform .
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. Gibran Onecard 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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 OneCard: Building a Savings and Benefits Platform 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 Gibran Onecard needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
