Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs
Genzyme has made money with external technology in orphan drug markets generally considered to be too small to be attractive to other drug companies. Now competition is entering these same markets, placing Genzyme's business model under new pressures.
Swot Analysis of "Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs" written by Henry W. Chesbrough, Clarissa Ceruti includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Orphan Genzyme facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Innovation, Marketing, Supply chain, Technology and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
geopolitical disruptions, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Orphan Genzyme, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Orphan Genzyme 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 Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Orphan Genzyme
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Orphan Genzyme
Strengths Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Orphan Genzyme in Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Orphan Genzyme is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Orphan Genzyme 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 Orphan Genzyme in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Orphan Genzyme in the sector have low bargaining power. Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Orphan Genzyme to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Orphan Genzyme is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Orphan Genzyme 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 Orphan Genzyme is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Organizational Resilience of Orphan Genzyme
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Orphan Genzyme does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Orphan Genzyme 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 Henry W. Chesbrough, Clarissa Ceruti 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.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Orphan Genzyme digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Orphan Genzyme 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Orphan Genzyme 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 Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Training and development
– Orphan Genzyme has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Orphan Genzyme is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs are -
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Orphan Genzyme supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Orphan Genzyme vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Orphan Genzyme 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.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs HBR case study mentions - Orphan Genzyme 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Orphan Genzyme 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. Orphan Genzyme 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs, it seems that the employees of Orphan Genzyme 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 Orphan Genzyme, firm in the HBR case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs, is just above the industry average. Orphan Genzyme 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Orphan Genzyme 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Orphan Genzyme is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Orphan Genzyme is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Orphan Genzyme 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 Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Orphan Genzyme can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Orphan Genzyme is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs 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.
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. Orphan Genzyme 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, Orphan Genzyme 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, Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs, 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 Orphan Genzyme 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Orphan Genzyme in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Orphan Genzyme 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 Orphan Genzyme to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Orphan Genzyme to increase its market reach. Orphan Genzyme 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Orphan Genzyme 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 Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Orphan Genzyme to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Developing new processes and practices
– Orphan Genzyme can develop new processes and procedures in Technology & Operations 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.
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 Orphan Genzyme in the consumer business. Now Orphan Genzyme can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Orphan Genzyme 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. Orphan Genzyme 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Orphan Genzyme can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Orphan Genzyme operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Threats Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Orphan Genzyme with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Orphan Genzyme.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Orphan Genzyme 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 Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Orphan Genzyme 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs, Orphan Genzyme may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Orphan Genzyme in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Orphan Genzyme has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Orphan Genzyme needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
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 Orphan Genzyme in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline 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. Orphan Genzyme 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.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Orphan Genzyme needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Orphan Genzyme
– 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 Orphan Genzyme.
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 Orphan Genzyme business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Orphan Genzyme needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
