Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company
Describes the growth of a biotechnology company as it shifts from a service research organization to an integrated human therapeutic company. Maps the management changes from 1982 to 1998, as the company responds to volatile market pressure.
Swot Analysis of "Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company" written by Alicia Loffler, Liisa Bayko includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Biotech Scios facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Decision making, Financial management, Growth strategy, Managing people, Manufacturing, Product development, Strategic planning and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing energy prices,
there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Biotech Scios, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Biotech Scios 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Biotech Scios
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 Biotech Scios
Strengths Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Biotech Scios in Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Biotech Scios to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Biotech Scios to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Biotech Scios in the sector have low bargaining power. Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Biotech Scios to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Diverse revenue streams
– Biotech Scios is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Biotech Scios 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Biotech Scios has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Biotech Scios to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Strong track record of project management
– Biotech Scios 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
– Biotech Scios has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Biotech Scios 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 Biotech Scios in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Organizational Resilience of Biotech Scios
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Biotech Scios does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Biotech Scios 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Biotech Scios has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Biotech Scios is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company are -
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Alicia Loffler, Liisa Bayko suggests that, Biotech Scios 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Biotech Scios products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Biotech Scios needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Biotech Scios is planning to shift buying processes online.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company, in the dynamic environment Biotech Scios has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Biotech Scios has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company, it seems that the employees of Biotech Scios 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Biotech Scios, firm in the HBR case study Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Biotech Scios 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 - Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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 Biotech Scios has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Biotech Scios 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company, is just above the industry average. Biotech Scios 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 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 Biotech Scios supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Biotech Scios vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company | 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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, Biotech Scios can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Biotech Scios operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Biotech Scios can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Biotech Scios 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, Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company, 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. Biotech Scios 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. Biotech Scios 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.
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 Biotech Scios 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Biotech Scios can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Biotech Scios 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Biotech Scios to increase its market reach. Biotech Scios 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Biotech Scios is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Biotech Scios 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Biotech Scios 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 Biotech Scios to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Biotech Scios 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Biotech Scios 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.
Threats Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Biotech Scios 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Biotech Scios 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Biotech Scios has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Biotech Scios 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 dependence on third party suppliers
– Biotech Scios 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Biotech Scios 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.
Environmental challenges
– Biotech Scios 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. Biotech Scios 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company, Biotech Scios 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 .
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. Biotech Scios can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Biotech Scios 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Biotech Scios with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Biotech Scios 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.
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 Biotech Scios.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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 Survivor Scios: Reality Biotech--The Anatomy of a Growing Biotech Company 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 Biotech Scios needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.