Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A
In 2007, Takeda was a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company with sales primarily in Japan and the U.S. Although Takeda ranked around 15th in global sales, the pharmaceutical market had been shifting due to major industry consolidation. Yasuchika Hasegawa, the president of Takeda, was concerned about the future of the company. To counter the shrinking Japanese pharmaceutical market, Takeda had expanded its business to overseas markets. But Takeda's attempts to become a global company had been criticized as slow and not sufficiently aggressive. One reason for this was Takeda's risk-averse corporate culture. Worse, Takeda's R&D pipeline was shrinking, and patents on several of its major products were about to expire-which would inevitably lead to a decline in profits as generics entered the market. This case explores Hasegawa's plan to transform Takeda into a global pharmaceutical company in a rapidly changing market. It covers Takeda's history, industry trends, and Hasegawa's acquisition strategies.
Authors :: Charles O'Reilly, Asaka Itoh, Hiromichi Kimura, Chris D Beaumont
Swot Analysis of "Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A" written by Charles O'Reilly, Asaka Itoh, Hiromichi Kimura, Chris D Beaumont includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Takeda Takeda's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Growth strategy, Mergers & acquisitions, Research & development and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A casestudy better are - – competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions,
increasing transportation and logistics costs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Takeda Takeda's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Takeda Takeda's 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Takeda Takeda's
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 Takeda Takeda's
Strengths Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Takeda Takeda's in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Takeda Takeda's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Takeda Takeda's 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Takeda Takeda's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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.
Training and development
– Takeda Takeda's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A 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.
Organizational Resilience of Takeda Takeda's
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Takeda Takeda's does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Innovation driven organization
– Takeda Takeda's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Takeda Takeda's 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Takeda Takeda's has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Takeda Takeda's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Takeda Takeda's 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Takeda Takeda's is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Takeda Takeda's 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
- Takeda Takeda's 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 Takeda Takeda's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High brand equity
– Takeda Takeda's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Takeda Takeda's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A are -
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Takeda Takeda's 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. Takeda Takeda's 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Takeda Takeda's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Takeda Takeda's 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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 Takeda Takeda's has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Takeda Takeda's 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Charles O'Reilly, Asaka Itoh, Hiromichi Kimura, Chris D Beaumont suggests that, Takeda Takeda's 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Takeda Takeda's 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.
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 Takeda Takeda's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Takeda Takeda's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Takeda Takeda's 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 - Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Takeda Takeda's, firm in the HBR case study Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A are -
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. Takeda Takeda's 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. Takeda Takeda's 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
– Takeda Takeda's 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Takeda Takeda's 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.
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. Takeda Takeda's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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. Takeda Takeda's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Takeda Takeda's 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Takeda Takeda's to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Takeda Takeda's in the consumer business. Now Takeda Takeda's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Takeda Takeda's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Takeda Takeda's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Takeda Takeda's 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 Takeda Takeda's 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 Takeda Takeda's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Takeda Takeda's to increase its market reach. Takeda Takeda's 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, Takeda Takeda's is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Takeda Takeda's 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.
Threats Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A are -
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Takeda Takeda's 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.
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 Takeda Takeda's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Takeda Takeda's 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Takeda Takeda's 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.
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. Takeda Takeda's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Takeda Takeda's 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.
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 Takeda Takeda's in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Takeda Takeda's
– 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 Takeda Takeda's.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Takeda Takeda's with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Takeda Takeda's is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Takeda Takeda's 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company A .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Takeda Takeda's demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company: Becoming a Global Company 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 Takeda Takeda's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
