GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A)

In February 2009, Andrew Witty reflected on his vision for big pharma as a catalyst for change which focused on two key issues: 1) promoting innovation for the products that treat or prevent neglected tropical diseases and 2) improving access to medicines in the world's poorest countries. He had announced the creation of the "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" and wondered if it was the right strategy to deliver on the two key issues.

Authors :: Michael Rouse, Chander Sehgal

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Business models, Corporate governance, International business, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A)" written by Michael Rouse, Chander Sehgal includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Witty Tropical facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Business models, Corporate governance, International business, Social responsibility and Strategy & Execution.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A)

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Witty Tropical, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Witty Tropical 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Witty Tropical
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 Witty Tropical

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Strengths GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Witty Tropical in GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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.

Learning organization

- Witty Tropical 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 Witty Tropical is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

High brand equity

– Witty Tropical has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Witty Tropical to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Witty Tropical digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Witty Tropical 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.

Strong track record of project management

– Witty Tropical is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Analytics focus

– Witty Tropical 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 Michael Rouse, Chander Sehgal 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.

Innovation driven organization

– Witty Tropical is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Organizational Resilience of Witty Tropical

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Witty Tropical does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Witty Tropical in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– Witty Tropical is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Witty Tropical in the sector have low bargaining power. GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Witty Tropical to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry

– GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Witty Tropical to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Witty Tropical to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

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Weaknesses GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) are -

Need for greater diversity

– Witty Tropical 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Witty Tropical 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 - GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Witty Tropical is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Witty Tropical needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Witty Tropical to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A), it seems that the employees of Witty Tropical 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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 GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Witty Tropical is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) HBR case study mentions - Witty Tropical 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Witty Tropical products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Witty Tropical needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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 Witty Tropical 's lucrative customers.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Witty Tropical 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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 Witty Tropical has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Witty Tropical, firm in the HBR case study GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

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Opportunities GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) | 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 GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) are -

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Witty Tropical 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 GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Witty Tropical to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Witty Tropical 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.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Witty Tropical can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Witty Tropical has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Witty Tropical to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) case study. Witty Tropical can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

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 Witty Tropical in the consumer business. Now Witty Tropical can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Witty Tropical 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 Witty Tropical to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Witty Tropical 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.

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. Witty Tropical can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Manufacturing automation

– Witty Tropical can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Witty Tropical 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, GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Witty Tropical 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Witty Tropical to increase its market reach. Witty Tropical 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Witty Tropical can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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.

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Threats GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) are -

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Witty Tropical is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A), Witty Tropical 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 .

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.

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 Witty Tropical.

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 Witty Tropical business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

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. Witty Tropical 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 Witty Tropical 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Witty Tropical 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 GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) .

Consumer confidence and its impact on Witty Tropical 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Witty Tropical 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.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Witty Tropical with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Witty Tropical 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.

Increasing wage structure of Witty Tropical

– 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 Witty Tropical.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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 GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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 GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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 GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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 GSK's Andrew Witty: Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases and Global Health Issues - The "Pharmaceutical Patent Pool" (A) 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 Witty Tropical needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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