Swot Analysis of "Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B)" written by Stefan Thomke, Ashok Nimgade includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Millennium Pharmaceuticals facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Financial management, Joint ventures, Product development, Strategy execution and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Millennium Pharmaceuticals
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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Strengths Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Millennium Pharmaceuticals to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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.
Analytics focus
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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 Stefan Thomke, Ashok Nimgade 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Millennium Pharmaceuticals to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Millennium Pharmaceuticals to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Millennium Pharmaceuticals in the sector have low bargaining power. Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Millennium Pharmaceuticals to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Weaknesses Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) are -
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B), it seems that the employees of Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Millennium Pharmaceuticals vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Need for greater diversity
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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 - Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Millennium Pharmaceuticals is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Millennium Pharmaceuticals is planning to shift buying processes online.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stefan Thomke, Ashok Nimgade suggests that, Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B), is just above the industry average. Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Opportunities Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) | 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Millennium Pharmaceuticals to increase its market reach. Millennium Pharmaceuticals will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
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. Millennium Pharmaceuticals can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Millennium Pharmaceuticals can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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. Millennium Pharmaceuticals can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Millennium Pharmaceuticals is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Threats Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
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. Millennium Pharmaceuticals needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B), Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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 .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Millennium Pharmaceuticals is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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. Millennium Pharmaceuticals can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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.
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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
Regulatory challenges
– Millennium Pharmaceuticals 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Millennium Pharmaceuticals with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B) 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 Millennium Pharmaceuticals needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
