Founded in February 2003, PluroGen Therapeutics is a start-up pharmaceutical firm that is in the process of developing a topical antimicrobial gel (TAG) to prevent and treat burn and skin-ulcer infections. In contrast to most new pharmaceutical compounds that have no clinical history, TAG has been used by thousands of patients at a large university hospital over the past 10 years. Based on the favorable clinical response, the two founding doctors want to start a company and make the drug available to the greater medical community. Although the doctors are recognized authorities in the field of wound care and holders of several patents, neither has extensive business experience. PluroGen is currently seeking $1.5 million in financing from angel investors to initiate the drug-approval process and subsequently plans to seek $6.5 million in funding from a strategic partner to complete Phase III trials and gain final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Students are asked to evaluate whether TAG is attractive enough to be of interest to experienced investors and, if so, what percentage of equity investors would demand in return for the $1.5 million. Because of the presumed future funding by a strategic partner, the angel investors must carefully weigh the effects of the next round of financing on the terms they are demanding now.
Swot Analysis of "PluroGen Therapeutics" written by Susan Chaplinsky includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Plurogen Tag facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in PluroGen Therapeutics case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the PluroGen Therapeutics casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing energy prices,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of PluroGen Therapeutics
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in PluroGen Therapeutics case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Plurogen Tag, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Plurogen Tag 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 PluroGen Therapeutics can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in PluroGen Therapeutics case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Plurogen Tag
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 Plurogen Tag
Strengths PluroGen Therapeutics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Plurogen Tag in PluroGen Therapeutics Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Plurogen Tag digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Plurogen Tag has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Plurogen Tag 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 PluroGen Therapeutics HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Plurogen Tag 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 Plurogen Tag is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in PluroGen Therapeutics Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Plurogen Tag has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Plurogen Tag 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Plurogen Tag 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Plurogen Tag is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Plurogen Tag is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the PluroGen Therapeutics are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Plurogen Tag in the sector have low bargaining power. PluroGen Therapeutics has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Plurogen Tag to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Plurogen Tag has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Plurogen Tag to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Plurogen Tag 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 Susan Chaplinsky 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Plurogen Tag 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 PluroGen Therapeutics - 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
– Plurogen Tag has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in PluroGen Therapeutics 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.
Weaknesses PluroGen Therapeutics | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of PluroGen Therapeutics are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study PluroGen Therapeutics, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study PluroGen Therapeutics, is just above the industry average. Plurogen Tag 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Plurogen Tag has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study PluroGen Therapeutics 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 PluroGen Therapeutics can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Plurogen Tag is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Susan Chaplinsky suggests that, Plurogen Tag 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the PluroGen Therapeutics 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 Plurogen Tag has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Plurogen Tag products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Plurogen Tag needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As PluroGen Therapeutics HBR case study mentions - Plurogen Tag 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, Plurogen Tag 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study PluroGen Therapeutics 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 Plurogen Tag 's lucrative customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Plurogen Tag 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.
Opportunities PluroGen Therapeutics | 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 PluroGen Therapeutics are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Plurogen Tag can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Plurogen Tag 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, Plurogen Tag can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Plurogen Tag operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
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 Plurogen Tag 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Plurogen Tag 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Plurogen Tag can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Plurogen Tag 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 PluroGen Therapeutics - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Plurogen Tag to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Plurogen Tag in the consumer business. Now Plurogen Tag can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Plurogen Tag 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Plurogen Tag 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, PluroGen Therapeutics, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Buying journey improvements
– Plurogen Tag can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. PluroGen Therapeutics 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Plurogen Tag can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Plurogen Tag to increase its market reach. Plurogen Tag 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.
Threats PluroGen Therapeutics External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study PluroGen Therapeutics are -
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. Plurogen Tag 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.
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 Plurogen Tag in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Plurogen Tag has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Plurogen Tag 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Plurogen Tag 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Plurogen Tag is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Plurogen Tag 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. Plurogen Tag can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Plurogen Tag can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Plurogen Tag with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Plurogen Tag 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 PluroGen Therapeutics .
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 Plurogen Tag business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
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. Plurogen Tag needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Plurogen Tag 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 PluroGen Therapeutics 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 PluroGen Therapeutics 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 PluroGen Therapeutics 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 PluroGen Therapeutics 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 PluroGen Therapeutics 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 Plurogen Tag needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
