MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
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Case Study Description of MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work
In June 2014, MannKind Corporation announced that after years of development and billions of dollars in expenses, the FDA had finally approved its drug, Afrezza. MannKind would thus be the only company with an inhalable insulin on the market. As an alternative to injectable rapid-acting (or mealtime) insulin, Afrezza boasted a potential market of at least 4 million diabetic patients. Shortly thereafter, Sanofi, a company with vast experience in the diabetic space, became MannKind's marketing partner and helped launch Afrezza in February, 2015. Although the drug had a black box warning and required doctors to perform a lung test on patients, expectations were high, with some analysts predicting peak sales of up to $4 billion a year. However, those lofty hopes were quickly dashed when Afrezza generated lackluster first-year sales, driving Sanofi to terminate its short-lived contract with MannKind in January, 2016. MannKind's management attributed the launch's failure to a poor marketing approach, convinced that Sanofi, despite its strong global presence and experience, did not effectively address critical barriers to adoption. The company now planned to overhaul Afrezza's entire marketing strategy. This included rethinking: which patients and physicians to target, how to position the drug to engender interest and adoption, how to lower end consumer price, through which media to convey Afrezza's benefits, and how to streamline the process of performing the lung-test and getting the drug into the hands of patients. But would all these changes and initiatives, no matter how well executed, be enough to turn sales around? Would Afrezza ever realize the potential that Alfred Mann, the late founder and former CEO, saw in the novel treatment?
Swot Analysis of "MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work" written by Elie Ofek, Amanda Dai includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Afrezza Mannkind facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Afrezza Mannkind, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Afrezza Mannkind 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 MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Afrezza Mannkind
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Afrezza Mannkind
Strengths MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Afrezza Mannkind in MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Afrezza Mannkind in the sector have low bargaining power. MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Afrezza Mannkind to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High brand equity
– Afrezza Mannkind has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Afrezza Mannkind to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 Sales & Marketing industry
– MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Afrezza Mannkind to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Afrezza Mannkind to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Afrezza Mannkind 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 Afrezza Mannkind in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Afrezza Mannkind is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Training and development
– Afrezza Mannkind has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Afrezza Mannkind is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Afrezza Mannkind digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Afrezza Mannkind is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Analytics focus
– Afrezza Mannkind 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 Elie Ofek, Amanda Dai 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.
Weaknesses MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work are -
Lack of clear differentiation of Afrezza Mannkind products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Afrezza Mannkind needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work, is just above the industry average. Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work, in the dynamic environment Afrezza Mannkind has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Afrezza Mannkind has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Afrezza Mannkind is planning to shift buying processes online.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Afrezza Mannkind has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Afrezza Mannkind 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 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 Afrezza Mannkind supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Afrezza Mannkind vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 Afrezza Mannkind 's lucrative customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 Afrezza Mannkind has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work | 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 MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Afrezza Mannkind to increase its market reach. Afrezza Mannkind 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 Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Afrezza Mannkind 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. Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Afrezza Mannkind in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Afrezza Mannkind can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Afrezza Mannkind can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Afrezza Mannkind operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Afrezza Mannkind 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.
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. Afrezza Mannkind can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Loyalty marketing
– Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Afrezza Mannkind can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Afrezza Mannkind in the consumer business. Now Afrezza Mannkind can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Afrezza Mannkind can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Afrezza Mannkind has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Afrezza Mannkind to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work case study. Afrezza Mannkind can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Threats MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work are -
Environmental challenges
– Afrezza Mannkind 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. Afrezza Mannkind can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing 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. Afrezza Mannkind needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Afrezza Mannkind 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.
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 Afrezza Mannkind.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Afrezza Mannkind 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.
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 Afrezza Mannkind in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Afrezza Mannkind 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Afrezza Mannkind with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Afrezza Mannkind has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Afrezza Mannkind needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Afrezza Mannkind 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 Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Afrezza Mannkind
– 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 Afrezza Mannkind.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Afrezza Mannkind can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Afrezza Mannkind is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 MannKind Corporation: Take a Deep Breath, This Time Afrezza Will Work 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 Afrezza Mannkind needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
