Case Study Description of Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma
In 2012, Sanofi Pasteur was racing to develop a vaccine against dengue, a mosquito-borne disease, and was evaluating this product in a Phase IIb trial conducted with school children in Thailand. But while the candidate vaccine met the high safety expectations and a good balanced immune answer, it had a proof of efficacy of only 30%, far below the 70% mark the company had targeted. Guillaume Leroy, vice president of the Dengue Company at Sanofi Pasteur, reflected on the Phase IIb trial's surprising outcome and the way forward. He had to decide whether to go ahead with the vaccine trials and production, and if so, needed to develop a strategic plan on how to price and deliver the vaccine for a rapid roll-out.
Authors :: V. Kasturi Rangan, David E. Bloom, Vincent Dessain, Emilie Billaud
Swot Analysis of "Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma" written by V. Kasturi Rangan, David E. Bloom, Vincent Dessain, Emilie Billaud includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Vaccine Pasteur facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Marketing, Product development, Social enterprise and Global Business.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, increasing energy prices, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Vaccine Pasteur, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Vaccine Pasteur 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Vaccine Pasteur
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 Vaccine Pasteur
Strengths Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Vaccine Pasteur in Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study are -
Training and development
– Vaccine Pasteur has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Global Business industry
– Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Vaccine Pasteur to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Global Business industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Vaccine Pasteur to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– Vaccine Pasteur is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Analytics focus
– Vaccine Pasteur 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 V. Kasturi Rangan, David E. Bloom, Vincent Dessain, Emilie Billaud 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Vaccine Pasteur is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Vaccine Pasteur 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 Vaccine Pasteur is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Vaccine Pasteur in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Vaccine Pasteur has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Vaccine Pasteur is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Strong track record of project management
– Vaccine Pasteur is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Digital Transformation in Global Business segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Vaccine Pasteur digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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.
Weaknesses Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Vaccine Pasteur, firm in the HBR case study Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
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 Vaccine Pasteur supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Vaccine Pasteur vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Lack of clear differentiation of Vaccine Pasteur products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Vaccine Pasteur needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Global Business 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.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Vaccine Pasteur is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Vaccine Pasteur is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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 Vaccine Pasteur has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma, in the dynamic environment Vaccine Pasteur has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Vaccine Pasteur has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Vaccine Pasteur is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Global Business segment. Vaccine Pasteur needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Vaccine Pasteur to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Opportunities Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma | 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Vaccine Pasteur can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Vaccine Pasteur 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Vaccine Pasteur to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Vaccine Pasteur to increase its market reach. Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Vaccine Pasteur has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Vaccine Pasteur to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma case study. Vaccine Pasteur can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Vaccine Pasteur can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Vaccine Pasteur operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Global Business sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Vaccine Pasteur 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.
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 Vaccine Pasteur in the consumer business. Now Vaccine Pasteur can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Vaccine Pasteur can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Vaccine Pasteur 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 Global Business segment.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Vaccine Pasteur 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, Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma are -
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. Vaccine Pasteur needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Global Business industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Vaccine Pasteur with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Vaccine Pasteur
– 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 Vaccine Pasteur.
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. Vaccine Pasteur 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Vaccine Pasteur is facing in Global Business 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 Vaccine Pasteur business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Vaccine Pasteur 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.
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. Vaccine Pasteur 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
– Vaccine Pasteur 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 Global Business industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Vaccine Pasteur has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Global Business industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Vaccine Pasteur 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Vaccine Pasteur 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma .
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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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 Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma 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 Vaccine Pasteur needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.