Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B)
The leader of a pioneering biotech company in the siRNA space weighs his options for scaling production capacity in advance of an anticipated commercial launch. Operational complexity and relative merits of in-house manufacturing versus a contractor model are discussed.
Authors :: Vicki L. Sato, Willy Shih, Matt Higgins
Swot Analysis of "Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B)" written by Vicki L. Sato, Willy Shih, Matt Higgins includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sirna Alnylam facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Strategic planning and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, geopolitical disruptions, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, wage bills are increasing, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sirna Alnylam, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sirna Alnylam 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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sirna Alnylam
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 Sirna Alnylam
Strengths Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sirna Alnylam in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Sirna Alnylam has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Sirna Alnylam to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Sirna Alnylam is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sirna Alnylam 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sirna Alnylam to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sirna Alnylam to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sirna Alnylam digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sirna Alnylam 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Sirna Alnylam is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Diverse revenue streams
– Sirna Alnylam is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) 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.
Analytics focus
– Sirna Alnylam 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 Vicki L. Sato, Willy Shih, Matt Higgins 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.
Learning organization
- Sirna Alnylam 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 Sirna Alnylam is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Sirna Alnylam
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sirna Alnylam does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sirna Alnylam 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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Sirna Alnylam 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 Sirna Alnylam in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) 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 Sirna Alnylam supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sirna Alnylam vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sirna Alnylam, firm in the HBR case study Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) HBR case study mentions - Sirna Alnylam 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B), is just above the industry average. Sirna Alnylam needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Vicki L. Sato, Willy Shih, Matt Higgins suggests that, Sirna Alnylam 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Sirna Alnylam 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sirna Alnylam 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sirna Alnylam 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Sirna Alnylam is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Sirna Alnylam needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Sirna Alnylam to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sirna Alnylam 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Sirna Alnylam has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Opportunities Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) are -
Loyalty marketing
– Sirna Alnylam 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.
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. Sirna Alnylam 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, Sirna Alnylam 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, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sirna Alnylam to increase its market reach. Sirna Alnylam 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.
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. Sirna Alnylam 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. Sirna Alnylam 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Sirna Alnylam 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 Sirna Alnylam 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sirna Alnylam 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 Sirna Alnylam to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sirna Alnylam 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sirna Alnylam can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sirna Alnylam operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Manufacturing automation
– Sirna Alnylam 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sirna Alnylam 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Sirna Alnylam 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.
Threats Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) are -
Environmental challenges
– Sirna Alnylam 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. Sirna Alnylam can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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 Sirna Alnylam.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Sirna Alnylam 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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B), Sirna Alnylam 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 .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Sirna Alnylam is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sirna Alnylam 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.
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. Sirna Alnylam needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Sirna Alnylam in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sirna Alnylam 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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (B) .
Regulatory challenges
– Sirna Alnylam 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.
Increasing wage structure of Sirna Alnylam
– 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 Sirna Alnylam.
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. Sirna Alnylam 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sirna Alnylam can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (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 Sirna Alnylam needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.