Lupin's Foray into Japan SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Global Business
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Lupin's Foray into Japan
The case described the issues faced by a mid-sized Indian generic pharmaceutical firm, in its attempt to acquire a small unlisted Japanese generics manufacturer. It showcases the strong motivation of a successful emerging market pharmaceutical firm to expand into the developed market, buoyed by its cost competitiveness. The case presents an opportunity to discuss the trade-offs involved with most of the dynamic decisions in a cross-border acquisition, such as estimation of synergies and value, bidding, and financing the acquisition. The case may be used in programmes on valuation, and mergers and acquisitions.
Swot Analysis of "Lupin's Foray into Japan" written by Joshy Jacob, Sobhesh Kumar Agarwalla, Prem Chander includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Lupin's Unlisted facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lupin's Foray into Japan case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Mergers & acquisitions and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lupin's Foray into Japan casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, wage bills are increasing, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
geopolitical disruptions, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lupin's Foray into Japan
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lupin's Foray into Japan case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Lupin's Unlisted, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Lupin's Unlisted 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lupin's Foray into Japan case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Lupin's Unlisted
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Global Business field.
4. Making a Global Business topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Lupin's Unlisted
Strengths Lupin's Foray into Japan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Lupin's Unlisted in Lupin's Foray into Japan Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Lupin's Unlisted has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Lupin's Foray into Japan 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Lupin's Unlisted 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Lupin's Foray into Japan 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.
Organizational Resilience of Lupin's Unlisted
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Lupin's Unlisted does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Lupin's Unlisted 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 Joshy Jacob, Sobhesh Kumar Agarwalla, Prem Chander 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Lupin's Unlisted 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Lupin's Unlisted is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Lupin's Foray into Japan are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Learning organization
- Lupin's Unlisted 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 Lupin's Unlisted is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Lupin's Foray into Japan Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Lupin's Foray into Japan firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Lupin's Unlisted to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Lupin's Unlisted to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Lupin's Unlisted 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan 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
– Lupin's Unlisted has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Lupin's Unlisted 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Lupin's Unlisted is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Lupin's Foray into Japan 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.
Weaknesses Lupin's Foray into Japan | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Lupin's Foray into Japan are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Lupin's Foray into Japan 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Lupin's Unlisted is planning to shift buying processes online.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Lupin's Unlisted is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Lupin's Unlisted needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Lupin's Unlisted to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Lupin's Unlisted is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Lupin's Foray into Japan can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Lupin's Foray into Japan, in the dynamic environment Lupin's Unlisted has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Lupin's Unlisted has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Lupin's Unlisted 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. Lupin's Unlisted 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.
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 Lupin's Unlisted supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Lupin's Foray into Japan, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Lupin's Unlisted vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Lupin's Unlisted 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Lupin's Unlisted 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Joshy Jacob, Sobhesh Kumar Agarwalla, Prem Chander suggests that, Lupin's Unlisted 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Lupin's Unlisted has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Lupin's Unlisted 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 - Lupin's Foray into Japan should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Lupin's Foray into Japan | 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Lupin's Unlisted is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Lupin's Foray into Japan 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Global Business industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Lupin's Unlisted can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Lupin's Unlisted 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 Lupin's Unlisted to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Lupin's Unlisted 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Lupin's Unlisted in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Global Business segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Developing new processes and practices
– Lupin's Unlisted can develop new processes and procedures in Global Business 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Lupin's Unlisted can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Global Business 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.
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. Lupin's Unlisted 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, Lupin's Unlisted 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, Lupin's Foray into Japan, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Global Business industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Lupin's Unlisted 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. Lupin's Unlisted 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Lupin's Unlisted can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Lupin's Unlisted operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Lupin's Unlisted 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Lupin's Unlisted has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Threats Lupin's Foray into Japan External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lupin's Foray into Japan are -
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 Lupin's Unlisted.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Lupin's Unlisted has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Lupin's Unlisted needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Global Business 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.
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 Lupin's Unlisted business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Lupin's Unlisted 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Lupin's Unlisted is facing in Global Business sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Lupin's Unlisted 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Lupin's Foray into Japan, Lupin's Unlisted may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Global Business .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Global Business field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Lupin's Unlisted can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
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 Lupin's Unlisted in the Global Business sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Lupin's Unlisted in the Global Business industry. The Global Business 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.
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. Lupin's Unlisted 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.
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lupin's Foray into Japan 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan 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 Lupin's Foray into Japan 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 Lupin's Unlisted needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.