First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design
The Vayugrid case study encourages students to develop their own understanding of the economic, political and social dimensions that define this entrepreneurial venture in rural India. It clarifies the importance of embedded innovation in developing a suitable business model to leverage a fragmented supply chain.
Swot Analysis of "First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design" written by Luk Van Wassenhove, Benjamin Warr includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Vayugrid Clarifies facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Supply chain and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, geopolitical disruptions,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Vayugrid Clarifies, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Vayugrid Clarifies 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Vayugrid Clarifies
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 Vayugrid Clarifies
Strengths First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Vayugrid Clarifies in First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Vayugrid Clarifies in the sector have low bargaining power. First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Vayugrid Clarifies to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Vayugrid Clarifies has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Vayugrid Clarifies 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
– Vayugrid Clarifies is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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 Vayugrid Clarifies in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Vayugrid Clarifies is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Vayugrid Clarifies 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 Vayugrid Clarifies is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Analytics focus
– Vayugrid Clarifies is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Luk Van Wassenhove, Benjamin Warr 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Weaknesses First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design HBR case study mentions - Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Vayugrid Clarifies, firm in the HBR case study First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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 Vayugrid Clarifies 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Vayugrid Clarifies 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. Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Vayugrid Clarifies is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Vayugrid Clarifies products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Vayugrid Clarifies needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Vayugrid Clarifies is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Vayugrid Clarifies 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 - First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design | 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Vayugrid Clarifies can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Vayugrid Clarifies to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Vayugrid Clarifies to increase its market reach. Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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. Vayugrid Clarifies 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. Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Vayugrid Clarifies is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Vayugrid Clarifies can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Vayugrid Clarifies operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
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 Vayugrid Clarifies in the consumer business. Now Vayugrid Clarifies can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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 Vayugrid Clarifies in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
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. Vayugrid Clarifies can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Vayugrid Clarifies 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design .
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.
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 Vayugrid Clarifies.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Vayugrid Clarifies with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Vayugrid Clarifies needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Vayugrid Clarifies 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.
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 Vayugrid Clarifies business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Vayugrid Clarifies needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Vayugrid Clarifies can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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 First Mile Innovation (B): Social Capital Based Value Chain Aggregation Business Model Design 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 Vayugrid Clarifies needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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