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Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization


"Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization" examines how a complex medical organization evaluates new health information technology products to pilot, purchase, and utilize. Every year, hundreds of companies pitched their health IT solutions to Stanford Medicine and its associated entities: the Stanford University School of Medicine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, and Stanford Health Care. However, Stanford Medicine would only select a few of these IT products to purchase and implement. Highlighting a few specific health information technology companies and products, this case explores the organizational decision-making process at Stanford Medicine and the criteria used to evaluate new technologies.

Authors :: Robert Chess, Ryan Kissick

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: IT, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization" written by Robert Chess, Ryan Kissick includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Stanford Medicine facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Stanford Medicine, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Stanford Medicine 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Stanford Medicine
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 Stanford Medicine




Strengths Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Stanford Medicine in Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization Harvard Business Review case study are -

Innovation driven organization

– Stanford Medicine is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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

– Stanford Medicine 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 Stanford Medicine in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

High brand equity

– Stanford Medicine has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Stanford Medicine to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Stanford Medicine is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Stanford Medicine 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Stanford Medicine 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Stanford Medicine 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Stanford Medicine 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Stanford Medicine has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Stanford Medicine 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.

Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Stanford Medicine digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Stanford Medicine 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.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry

– Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Stanford Medicine to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Stanford Medicine to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Stanford Medicine in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.






Weaknesses Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization are -

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Stanford Medicine has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Stanford Medicine even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Stanford Medicine is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Stanford Medicine 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Stanford Medicine 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 - Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization, is just above the industry average. Stanford Medicine 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization, it seems that the employees of Stanford Medicine 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization, in the dynamic environment Stanford Medicine has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Stanford Medicine has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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 Stanford Medicine 's lucrative customers.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Stanford Medicine has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Stanford Medicine is planning to shift buying processes online.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Stanford Medicine 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.




Opportunities Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization | 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization are -

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Stanford Medicine to increase its market reach. Stanford Medicine 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Stanford Medicine 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, Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

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. Stanford Medicine can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

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 Stanford Medicine in the consumer business. Now Stanford Medicine can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Stanford Medicine 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Stanford Medicine 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.

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 Stanford Medicine 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.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Stanford Medicine has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Stanford Medicine to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization case study. Stanford Medicine can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Developing new processes and practices

– Stanford Medicine 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. Stanford Medicine 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. Stanford Medicine 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Stanford Medicine can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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, Stanford Medicine can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Stanford Medicine operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Stanford Medicine 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.




Threats Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization are -

Increasing wage structure of Stanford Medicine

– 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 Stanford Medicine.

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. Stanford Medicine needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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. Stanford Medicine 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

– Stanford Medicine 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 dependence on third party suppliers

– Stanford Medicine 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Stanford Medicine 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization .

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Stanford Medicine with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Stanford Medicine is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Regulatory challenges

– Stanford Medicine 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.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization, Stanford Medicine 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

– Stanford Medicine has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Stanford Medicine 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.

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.

Environmental challenges

– Stanford Medicine 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. Stanford Medicine can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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 Stanford Medicine: Health IT Purchasing Decisions in a Complex Medical Organization 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 Stanford Medicine needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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