Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid
Prayas is a unique healthcare initiative, launched in India by Sanofi-Aventis, a French multinational pharmaceutical company, with the objectives of updating the medical knowledge of doctors in semi-urban and rural areas, bridging the gap between diagnosis and treatment, and making available quality medicines at affordable prices. This case discusses the evolution of the Prayas model from its inception to its current state, and the company's business strategies around it. Cognizant of the success of Prayas, many competitors of Sanofi-Aventis are actively developing and implementing similar models. The company's top management team has to respond to the competitive threat.
Swot Analysis of "Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid" written by Harit Palan, Anand Kumar Jaiswal, Jagdip Singh, Garima Sharma includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Prayas Sanofi facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Marketing, Research & development and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Prayas Sanofi, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Prayas Sanofi 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Prayas Sanofi
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Prayas Sanofi
Strengths Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Prayas Sanofi in Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Prayas Sanofi is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Prayas Sanofi to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Prayas Sanofi to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Prayas Sanofi in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Prayas Sanofi in the sector have low bargaining power. Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Prayas Sanofi to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Prayas Sanofi
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Prayas Sanofi does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Prayas Sanofi 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Prayas Sanofi is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Training and development
– Prayas Sanofi has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Prayas Sanofi 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Prayas Sanofi has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Prayas Sanofi to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Prayas Sanofi is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Prayas Sanofi is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Prayas Sanofi 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 - Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
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 Prayas Sanofi supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Prayas Sanofi vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid, in the dynamic environment Prayas Sanofi has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Prayas Sanofi has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Prayas Sanofi is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Prayas Sanofi needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Prayas Sanofi to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Prayas Sanofi is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Prayas Sanofi 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid, is just above the industry average. Prayas Sanofi 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid, it seems that the employees of Prayas Sanofi 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Harit Palan, Anand Kumar Jaiswal, Jagdip Singh, Garima Sharma suggests that, Prayas Sanofi 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.
Opportunities Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid | 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Prayas Sanofi can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Prayas Sanofi operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Prayas Sanofi 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, Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Prayas Sanofi 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. Prayas Sanofi 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Prayas Sanofi can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Prayas Sanofi 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Prayas Sanofi to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Prayas Sanofi has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Prayas Sanofi to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid case study. Prayas Sanofi can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Prayas Sanofi 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Prayas Sanofi 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.
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 Prayas Sanofi 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.
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 Prayas Sanofi in the consumer business. Now Prayas Sanofi can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Prayas Sanofi in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Prayas Sanofi 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 Prayas Sanofi 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 Prayas Sanofi to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid are -
Environmental challenges
– Prayas Sanofi 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. Prayas Sanofi can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Prayas Sanofi 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid .
Regulatory challenges
– Prayas Sanofi 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 Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Prayas Sanofi has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Prayas Sanofi needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution 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.
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. Prayas Sanofi needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Prayas Sanofi 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Prayas Sanofi 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Prayas Sanofi is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Prayas Sanofi with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Prayas Sanofi.
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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Prayas Sanofi 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Prayas by Sanofi-Aventis in India: Making Healthcare Accessible to the Bottom of the Pyramid 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 Prayas Sanofi needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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