MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council
Set in 2004, as Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) President Tom Sommer contemplates the future direction of a successful medical device cluster association. Focuses on the formation of cluster organizations and their roles and effectiveness, highlighting the importance of these organizations in enabling cross-cluster collaboration between firms, universities, regulators and other government officials, and other institutions. Details the events that led to the formation of MassMEDIC and the initial challenges the organization faced. Discusses the evolution of MassMEDIC's activities, from its formation in 1996 through 2004, and the views of different MassMEDIC stakeholders on the future direction of the organization. Provides detailed data about MassMEDIC and the Massachusetts medical device cluster to enable an evaluation of results and inform future direction.
Authors :: Willis Emmons, Michael E. Porter, Spencer Wallace
Swot Analysis of "MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council" written by Willis Emmons, Michael E. Porter, Spencer Wallace includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Massmedic Cluster facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competition, Economic development, Networking, Operations management, Policy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Massmedic Cluster, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Massmedic Cluster 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Massmedic Cluster
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 Massmedic Cluster
Strengths MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Massmedic Cluster in MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Massmedic Cluster digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Massmedic Cluster 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.
Organizational Resilience of Massmedic Cluster
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Massmedic Cluster does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Massmedic Cluster is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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
– Massmedic Cluster is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Massmedic Cluster 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 Massmedic Cluster is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Massmedic Cluster 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 Massmedic Cluster in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High brand equity
– Massmedic Cluster has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Massmedic Cluster to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Massmedic Cluster has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Massmedic Cluster 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Massmedic Cluster in the sector have low bargaining power. MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Massmedic Cluster to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Massmedic Cluster has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Massmedic Cluster 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Willis Emmons, Michael E. Porter, Spencer Wallace suggests that, Massmedic Cluster 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Massmedic Cluster has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Massmedic Cluster is planning to shift buying processes online.
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 Massmedic Cluster supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Massmedic Cluster vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Massmedic Cluster is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Massmedic Cluster 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. Massmedic Cluster 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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 Massmedic Cluster has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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 Massmedic Cluster 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Massmedic Cluster 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Massmedic Cluster is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Massmedic Cluster needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Massmedic Cluster to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Massmedic Cluster 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.
Opportunities MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council | 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council are -
Loyalty marketing
– Massmedic Cluster 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Massmedic Cluster can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Massmedic Cluster 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Massmedic Cluster 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Massmedic Cluster to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Massmedic Cluster 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 Massmedic Cluster to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Massmedic Cluster can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Massmedic Cluster 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, MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Massmedic Cluster 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Massmedic Cluster is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Massmedic Cluster to increase its market reach. Massmedic Cluster 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Massmedic Cluster 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.
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. Massmedic Cluster 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. Massmedic Cluster 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Massmedic Cluster 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.
Threats MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Massmedic Cluster with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, Massmedic Cluster 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 .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Massmedic Cluster in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Massmedic Cluster 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Massmedic Cluster 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 Massmedic Cluster is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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.
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. Massmedic Cluster 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.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Massmedic Cluster
– 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 Massmedic Cluster.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Massmedic Cluster 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Massmedic Cluster has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Massmedic Cluster 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Massmedic Cluster 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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 MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council 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 Massmedic Cluster needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.