Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future?
In July 2017, Dr. Brian M. Alexander, president and CEO of the AGILE Research Foundation, was preparing to launch a new type of clinical trial-an adaptive platform trial-to study potential therapies for glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive form of brain cancer. Alexander believed that the standard way in which new cancer drugs were tested-the traditional randomized controlled trial (RCT)-was limited in many ways. While statistically rigorous and still considered the "gold standard" in clinical research, traditional RCTs were time-consuming, costly, and limited to testing just one new drug at a time. Adaptive platform trials, by contrast, facilitated simultaneously studying multiple therapies for a given disease and promised a number of efficiency improvements. They also used statistical techniques to allow more patients to access promising therapies. As such, they had the potential to fundamentally change the clinical research process, making clinical trials for new cancer drugs more efficient, more accessible to patients, and more ambitious in scope. For the past three years, Alexander had been working closely with a group of like-minded oncologists, statisticians, and clinical trial strategists to design an adaptive platform trial for GBM in the hopes of identifying effective therapies more quickly. By mid-2017, Alexander and his colleagues had completed a master protocol for the trial. But now the research team faced several design and operational challenges as they prepared for the trial's launch. Most pressing, how should Alexander and his colleagues finance the trial?
Swot Analysis of "Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future?" written by Ariel D. Stern, Sarah Mehta includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Trial Alexander facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, IT, Operations management, Research & development, Strategy and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Trial Alexander, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Trial Alexander 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Trial Alexander
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 Trial Alexander
Strengths Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Trial Alexander in Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Trial Alexander 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Trial Alexander is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Trial Alexander in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Training and development
– Trial Alexander has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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.
High brand equity
– Trial Alexander has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Trial Alexander to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Trial Alexander 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Trial Alexander to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Trial Alexander to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Trial Alexander in the sector have low bargaining power. Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Trial Alexander to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Trial Alexander is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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.
Ability to lead change in Technology & Operations field
– Trial Alexander 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 Trial Alexander in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Trial Alexander 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 Trial Alexander is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? are -
Need for greater diversity
– Trial Alexander 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Trial Alexander 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future?, is just above the industry average. Trial Alexander 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 cash cycle compare to competitors
Trial Alexander 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 operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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 Trial Alexander 's lucrative customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future?, in the dynamic environment Trial Alexander has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Trial Alexander has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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 Trial Alexander has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Trial Alexander 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 - Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Trial Alexander 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future?, 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Trial Alexander is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? | 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Trial Alexander is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Trial Alexander can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Trial Alexander 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.
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. Trial Alexander can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Trial Alexander 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Trial Alexander 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.
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. Trial Alexander 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. Trial Alexander 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Trial Alexander 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Trial Alexander to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Trial Alexander 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Trial Alexander has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Trial Alexander to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? case study. Trial Alexander can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
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 Trial Alexander 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.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Trial Alexander 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.
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 Trial Alexander in the consumer business. Now Trial Alexander can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? are -
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. Trial Alexander 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Trial Alexander can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing wage structure of Trial Alexander
– 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 Trial Alexander.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Trial Alexander 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Trial Alexander is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Trial Alexander business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Trial Alexander can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Regulatory challenges
– Trial Alexander 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Trial Alexander 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.
Environmental challenges
– Trial Alexander 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. Trial Alexander can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
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. Trial Alexander needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Trial Alexander 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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 Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? 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 Trial Alexander needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.