Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs
Describes Gilead Sciences' initial experience implementing an access program for delivering its AIDS drug Viread to developing nations in Africa. In April 2003, Gilead announced the Gilead Access Program to make the company's new drug Viread available, at no profit to Gilead, to developing countries. Viread represented a significant advancement in antiretroviral medicines for the treatment of HIV/AIDS with once-a-day dosage, greater effectiveness, and a much improved side-effect profile. Gilead executives expected the Access Program to have an immediate, positive impact on the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients in the world's poorest countries. A year after implementation, however, the Access Program had not led to widespread use of Viread in Africa. Having learned from early missteps, Gilead had to make significant changes to improve the program. It also wanted to expand the Access Program to create greater access to therapies in middle-income regions.
Authors :: David P. Baron, Keith Krehbiel, Brian Tayan
Swot Analysis of "Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs" written by David P. Baron, Keith Krehbiel, Brian Tayan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Gilead Viread facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Performance measurement, Policy, Public relations, Strategy execution and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Gilead Viread, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Gilead Viread 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Gilead Viread
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 Gilead Viread
Strengths Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Gilead Viread in Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs Harvard Business Review case study are -
Strong track record of project management
– Gilead Viread is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Gilead Viread is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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.
High brand equity
– Gilead Viread has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Gilead Viread to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Innovation driven organization
– Gilead Viread is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Gilead Viread 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.
Organizational Resilience of Gilead Viread
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Gilead Viread 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Gilead Viread in the sector have low bargaining power. Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Gilead Viread to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Gilead Viread has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Gilead Viread digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Gilead Viread 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Gilead Viread is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Gilead Viread 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 Gilead Viread in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs are -
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 Gilead Viread supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Gilead Viread vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Gilead Viread 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 - Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Gilead Viread 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.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Gilead Viread is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Viread has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs HBR case study mentions - Gilead Viread 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs, in the dynamic environment Gilead Viread has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Gilead Viread has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Gilead Viread 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. Gilead Viread 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Viread has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Gilead Viread is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Viread 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs | 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– Gilead Viread can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Gilead Viread 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Gilead Viread to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Gilead Viread 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Gilead Viread 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.
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 Gilead Viread in the consumer business. Now Gilead Viread can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Buying journey improvements
– Gilead Viread can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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.
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 Gilead Viread 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Gilead Viread 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 Strategy & Execution segment.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Gilead Viread has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Gilead Viread to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs case study. Gilead Viread can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Gilead Viread 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Gilead Viread 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 Gilead Viread to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Gilead Viread can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Gilead Viread can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Gilead Viread operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs are -
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. Gilead Viread 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 Gilead Viread 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.
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 Gilead Viread.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Gilead Viread 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs .
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 Gilead Viread in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– Gilead Viread 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.
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. Gilead Viread 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.
Environmental challenges
– Gilead Viread 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. Gilead Viread can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs, Gilead Viread may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Gilead Viread with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Gilead Viread is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Gilead Viread
– 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 Gilead Viread.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs 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 Gilead Viread needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.