Case Study Description of Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision
Pharmaceutical company Genzyme has created a new drug, Renvela, which is a phosphate binder designed to be used primarily by patients with kidney failure. Renvela is a slightly different version of Genzyme's highly successful Renagel. Company executives must now decide how best to launch Renvela. Should it replace Renagel? Should it be a premium version of Renagel? Is it worth launching the product at all? The case appears rather simple on the surface, but the questions are challenging to work through.
Swot Analysis of "Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision" written by Tim Calkins, Lynn Harris includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Renvela Renagel facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategy and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Renvela Renagel, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Renvela Renagel 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Renvela Renagel
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Renvela Renagel
Strengths Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Renvela Renagel in Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Renvela Renagel is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Organizational Resilience of Renvela Renagel
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Renvela Renagel does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Renvela Renagel 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 Renvela Renagel is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Renvela Renagel 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Renvela Renagel has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High brand equity
– Renvela Renagel has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Renvela Renagel to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Renvela Renagel 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 Renvela Renagel in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Renvela Renagel in the sector have low bargaining power. Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Renvela Renagel to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Renvela Renagel to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Renvela Renagel to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Renvela Renagel 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.
Analytics focus
– Renvela Renagel 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 Tim Calkins, Lynn Harris 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.
Weaknesses Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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 Renvela Renagel has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Renvela Renagel is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Renvela Renagel needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Renvela Renagel 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision, in the dynamic environment Renvela Renagel has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Renvela Renagel has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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 Renvela Renagel 's lucrative customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Renvela Renagel 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. Renvela Renagel 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Renvela Renagel 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision, it seems that the employees of Renvela Renagel 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Renvela Renagel 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Tim Calkins, Lynn Harris suggests that, Renvela Renagel 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Renvela Renagel, firm in the HBR case study Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision | 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision are -
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Renvela Renagel 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Renvela Renagel 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Renvela Renagel 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Renvela Renagel 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 Renvela Renagel 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, Renvela Renagel 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, Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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 Renvela Renagel in the consumer business. Now Renvela Renagel can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Renvela Renagel can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Renvela Renagel 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. Renvela Renagel 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 Renvela Renagel in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Renvela Renagel can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Renvela Renagel to increase its market reach. Renvela Renagel 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Renvela Renagel has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Renvela Renagel to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision case study. Renvela Renagel 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, Renvela Renagel can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Renvela Renagel operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Threats Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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 Renvela Renagel business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Renvela Renagel 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision, Renvela Renagel may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Renvela Renagel has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Renvela Renagel needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Renvela Renagel is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Renvela Renagel in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Renvela Renagel 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Renvela Renagel with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
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 Renvela Renagel.
Increasing wage structure of Renvela Renagel
– 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 Renvela Renagel.
Environmental challenges
– Renvela Renagel 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. Renvela Renagel can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
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. Renvela Renagel needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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 Genzyme: The Renvela Launch Decision 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 Renvela Renagel needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
